BNN-BURMA NEWS NETWORK: NEWS & OPINION

Burma’s Sham Election Spurs Outrage Across the Globe

2010-11-10T21:32:00.000+06:30

From Tokyo Japan to the streets of New York City Political Exiles, Refugees and supporters have staged major protests against Burma’s Sham Election. Already, reports are coming in verifying the fact the junta has resorted to intimidation to coerce voters to vote for one of the many junta supported political parties. Ethnic groups as well as some political parties have been excluded from the whole process. The basic theme for this election is really quite simple, ‘Vote Junta or Pay the Price’. In fact may people have been secretly murdered or placed in irons to keep their influence from tainting an already fixed election. And all the while, the true leader of Burma, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi remains in irons along with thousands of political prisoners.

Thuggery at its best as criminal dictator Gen. Than Shwe’s lackeys continue to coerce and threaten people with dire consequences if they dare to oppose the bogus political parties Than Shwe installed for this rigged election. There will be no winners whence this election is over other than the vermin Than Shwe hand selected to take the reigns when he retires. Just remember, Than Shwe retired his top generals to form sham political parties prior to this crap sandwich of an election. With the aid of a hopelessly flawed revised constitution he has forced an election on the people of Burma only to make Burma appear legitimate. Sadly, nothing could be further from the truth. This whole process is a bold faced lie, plain and simple.

Kabuki at its best therefore Than Shwe should win an Academy Award for this orchestrated theatrical production called ‘The 2010 election’ and it should be categorized under Horror. The dark side to this election is the fact blood will flow in secret for those who dared to oppose him in earnest while the frauds continue to walk the streets. Now if you will excuse me, I have to get some more popcorn because the show is not over yet.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Buffalohair

General Mecchadihtti Than Shwe, A Condemned Man

2009-10-26T03:18:00.000+06:30

With the *All Burma Monks Alliance declaration of the excommunication of Than Shwe, his generals and all soldiers who ally themselves with him at least Than shwe will not be alone in the afterlife. Compounded by what’s been called the Curse of the Three Pagoda’s even his soothsayer’s stand powerless. In fact, his astrologers share the dubious honor of excommunication as Pattanikujjana, (the refusal of accepting offerings by this group of people by turning their bowls over), reigns throughout Burma and the world.
In effect the Tatmadaw, (Burmese Military) has become an enemy of Buddhism severing the only link with Burma as a nation. They are no better than the colonizers who enslaved this nation in the past. But in all reality Buddhism was nothing more than a tool to control the masses. I am still haunted by the rape and butchery of a 5 year old girl whose body was then place in a Buddhist temple like some kind of sacrifice or offering. This is not Buddhism and is more reflective of the rituals performed by followers of Kali, The Dark Mother. So in some convoluted way Than Shwe made it official who he and his legions really are because they surely are not Buddhist, never was and never will. And now they all share Than Shwe’s eternity of unspeakable hells in the afterlife.
Though Than Shwe and his motley crew of thugs, rapists and murders went through the motions of being Buddhist they were only fooling themselves. There are no secrets within the confines of the spirit world and the truth is known by every type of being that walks on the other side. Some are almost rabid with excitement in anticipation of Generalissimo Supermo Mecchadihtti Than Shwe’s arrival and have prepared a very “warm” reception whence he arrives. His revered Tatmadaw also are in for the surprise of their new eternity whence they cross over. Every one of them will have their own personal receptions to look forward to. If they forgot exactly who they murdered, that is not a problem for they will soon be reminded. The spirits of the afterlife have pulled all the stops in preparation of their arrival.
Every nuance of their conduct has been recorded. No details have been overlooked or ignored and soon they will cry out in agony but it will not be short lived as in the case of their innocent victims. They will exist suffering in pain and agony exactly like the people they killed but it will last for an eternity. I see their journey in my visions and I hear the spirits as they giggle with excitement with a hint of revenge in their voices. They say, “We are waiting for you Than Shwe for death is inevitable”. Like the old street adage goes, you can run but you can’t hide and one day soon Than Shwe will scream out in pain as his body is ripped apart over and over again while spirits play with his entrails laughing at his cries for mercy, forever. His crew will face their own horror as their fallow cries go unanswered as they reap what they have sown on Earth for an eternity. Now that they are excommunicated from the Buddhist faith they will be less than alone in the afterlife. They will enjoy their own personal hells for they condemned themselves in the high court of humanity. It is a befitting fate since the universal law of retribution is just and always gets their man. And Kali, The Dark Mother, will be waiting.

* http://www.burmesesangha.com/
Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair

Burma’s UNconstitution

2009-10-26T03:17:00.001+06:30

Reading Than Shwe’s latest literary disaster, *The Constitution of 2008, you must ask yourself, how far beyond stupid is that? Filled with double speak and thinly veiled power points where the junta retains power it’s as worthless as the new money Than Shwe has begun printing. There is no constitution since it simply gives ultimate power to the junta, pardons or gives amnesty to murders, rapist and criminals against humanity. It’s a get out of jail free card for the most reprehensibly criminally corrupt group of people in Burma’s history. It also whitewashes the industries who’ve continued to violate the international sanctions that were imposed.

The fact he chose to push the ballot initiative at the peak of disaster, Cyclone Nargis, while using extortion and threats of death should have been an eye opener for the world. Forced to reveal who they were and how they voted, the citizens of Burma had few choices. The Constitutional Referendum was gun barrel politics at its best. It was the launch pad for the bogus 2010 Election and it bought worthless dialogue that gleaned no results other than buying Than Shwe the critical time he needed. Like the greatest show on earth, Than Shwe set the stage for yet another academy award winning performance.

Ah but not all is well in Camelot and like a train wreck in slow motion Than Shwe is loosing his magic as generals wait for his ultimate demise. Word is out that Papa Than is going to hand the scepter of power to his kid to the chagrin of his generals. Sadly once Than Shwe dies his reign and spell is finished. With factions at serious odds with one another the issue of his son taking power becomes a non issue with a single gun shot to the head. None of his generals will go for a punk kid dictator, democracy or no democracy. It would not be surprising another constitution suddenly sprang up the day after Than died. It would also become open season on his family and they would be sitting ducks. The names of people who flaunted their association with Than Shwe adorn many hit lists and that’s an understatement. The ones with the longest knives will win the day when vendetta echoes through the ranks. Major divisions between the officer and soldier are terminal at best. With desertions at an all time high it is clear loyalty has become a novelty.

Its open season on NLD members, opposition and monk these days as the junta’s kangaroo courts dole out prison terms equal to death sentences underneath the worlds noses. Rape and genocide continue unabated throughout the ethnic regions. The mass exodus of refugees to centers along the Bangladesh, Thai and Chinese borders should be an indicator. Camps are filling beyond capacity in many regions and shortages of food and medication are rampant. But its business as usual as the world panders to empty gestures, fruitless words and jumps through hoops while Than Shwe quietly commits genocide. The new constitution does not address “Burmanization”. That’s the systematic process by soldiers of raping ethnic woman under Than Shwe’s Moto, “Leave Your Blood”. The constitution does not include ethnic groups. The 2010 Election is nothing more than a stage act and the constitution is just a pointless script filled with rhetoric and contradictions. Generals have the final say lock, stock and tomahawk.

* http://rspas.anu.edu.au/rmap/newmandala/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/myanmar_constitution-2008-en.pdf

Your Devil’s Advocate

Buffalohair

Than Shwe Runs to China

2009-06-22T04:59:00.001+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Desperate for allies, the criminal regime of Burma lead by Gen. Than Shwe turned to *China in an attempt to garner more support for their on going acts of genocide. Also on the list of concerns is the sham trial of the elected leader of Burma Daw Aung San Suu Kyi fore it has truly backfired on him causing unprecedented international exposure.

Weeks earlier, the regime turned to North Korea for support and was rewarded with a distraction as Kim Jong II launched his impotent nuclear scare. Jong offered his nuclear distraction before when Burma came under the international microscope. The arrest and sham trial of two journalists was frosting on the cake as attention was diverted with Kim Jong’s saber rattling. But just like the sham trial of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi this only opened the door to questions about North Korea’s criminality and blatant human rights violations fore there are many.

Now Than Shwe is pandering for China’s support this is sure to open the door to questions about China’s continued human rights violations. Slave labor, corruption and the wholesale disregard for human life decorate China’s political landscape. And now that GM is going bankrupt in the US it is reveled that GM is also building plants in China with plans to sell cars in the US within a few years. Wal-Marts shelves are filled with Chinese goods. Yes, timing is everything and this was not what China wanted since it has many US industries moving there. Humvee was sold part and parcel to China in recent weeks as well and the list goes on.

With in excess of 80 million slaves in China’s Gulag system it’s a small wonder US and UK industries are cashing out and moving to China. Bail-Out money is being used to build new plants where there are no environmental or labor issues. The US and other nations are left struggle with economic issues caused by the shift to “cheaper pastures” such as China’s lucrative restriction free environment. The continued sham arrests of Falun Gong members as well as anyone who would dare to think outside of the box plague China’s storefront. Tiananmen Square still haunts China as this act of genocide is reviewed anew in the public’s eye. It will only be a matter of time before the world comes to realize the harsh reality of China’s slave labor camps and the US industries who are capitalizing on them.

The United Nations stands impotent as usual with more plans for sanctions while the Security Council sits idle. China has become the great stumbling block for Burma as they continue to quash stiffer measures to quell the cancer that has infected Burma, Gen. Than Shwe. In all reality China should disqualify them self from any UN Security Council vote since they are profiteering from the corrupt government they are supposed to vote on. Truly their vote on any issue pertaining to Burma is a conflict of interests since they’ve sold billions of dollars in military hardware to assist Gen. Than Shwe’s campaign of ethnic cleansing. As time marches on China will come under the scrutiny of the world as whole and it will become all too apparent that China is equally as guilty of crimes against humanity.

What is becoming apparent is the fact the general public is becoming educated about the atrocious activities of Gen. Than Shwe and not just politicians, like before. It is the people of the world who are coming to realize the horrific realities of Than Shwe’s regime. They are coming to realize the power they have as “consumers” as well. China does not need this kind of exposure since they’ve become addicted to the axiom of International Corporatism or Globalization. They have become ensnared in the greatest Ponzi Scheme in world history and inadvertently became co-dependant on the consumers of the world and change purse. China has embraced fascism unwittingly in the greedy race for corporate gold. Communism has become an ideology in the past tense as greed becomes the axiom of the future.

It is inevitable war will finally break out across the globe, or has it already? It’s only a matter of time before someone connects the dots and revels the fact the world is AT war and it’s all about the money and economics as usual. China is poised for revolution whence China’s attention is focused on external enemies. Regardless of China’s secret blockade of hard news it will soon become clear that all is not well in China fore there is a sleeping dragon about to awaken. International Corporatism better known as Globalization will also be exposed for what it really is and world leaders will also come under scrutiny for selling out their nations for the corporate bottom line.

It’s called the domino effects and leave it to a criminals like Gen. Than Shwe and his crony Kim Jong II to cause a spontaneous chain reaction that will soon lead to a world war. The Two Stooges of Asia, Than and Kim opened a Pandora’s Box and there is no closing it now. In visions it is said “Empires will fall and material wealth will be meaningless” during the time of change. It is also said “The meek shall inherit the Earth”. I say, “What comes around goes around”.

BNN

Tension on all Fronts’, Burma

2009-06-05T04:46:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

With tensions mounting between the Burmese Military and the Kachin Independence Army, news of Anti-Naypyitaw-Shan State Army, (SSA) ‘South’ successful ambush of Mongzern Militia was not well received. Trucks and equipment were destroyed with 15 casualties. 2 Burmese Army Military Affairs Security (MAS) officers were among the dead. *One report noted SAA defector Col, Mongzern was also in the body count. The United Wa State Army tossed the junta’s offer to be border cops in the fire and is quietly sharpening their knives. The general public, though reserved and unassuming, is livid and filled with anger over the sham trial of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. This anger has permeated all quarters of Burmese society with unprecedented ferocity. This is quite a roadmap to democracy.

Fearful, the junta has turned its guns on their own ranks looking for potential sympathizers. The generals have declared war on their own soldiers. Its ironic soldiers do the junta’s dirty work while the generals reap all the bounty. It’s laughable that better than 80% of the military including Than Shwe’s circle of friends favor change. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations **(Asean) made a rare public condemnation of Burma and its trial of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Asean also warned that Burma’s honor and credibility were at stake at this juncture. Than Shwe’s zeal to slander and imprison Aung San Suu Kyi ahead of the 2010 Election was all too obvious. But in reality the junta’s conduct had not really changed with all this attention though. Its business as usual only this time we get a bird’s eye view.

A Crisis of Constitution

2009-06-05T04:43:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Though Daw Aung Suu Kyi is imprisoned she stands defiant and strong willed. According to her attorney she proclaimed;

“We are facing a crisis of constitution, not a constitutional crises”
In layman’s terms the judicial process she is going through is no where close to being constitutional or legal. It is a crisis since Gen. Than Shwe has gone beyond his own laws and restrictions to have Aung San Suu Kyi vilified and condemned to more jail time. Than Shwe has proven that he has no honor with this circus of a trial while violating his own cryptic constitution. Small wonder the *Association of Southeast Asian Nations is pondering the expulsion of Burma from their ranks. This is a dynamic turn of events since the ASEAN rarely says anything at all about their members.

There is nothing honorable about the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and there is nothing legal about the case according to Than Shwe’s constitution. Yet he keeps on moving forward with this sham with a vengeance. He has gone beyond the tenets of sanity clearly showing his inability to lead a nation with good conscience and sound dictum. The trial was filled with lies and fabrication as it was, then **John William Yettaw threw a monkey wrench into the trial with his rendition that contradicts the junta’s fabrication. I’m more prone to believe the ***taxi drivers story about dropping John off at the gates of Aung San Suu Kyi’s home. It’s logical and makes sense unlike the junta’s version.

The junta is stunned by what they thought was going to be an open and shut case. They postponed the trial till June 5th so they can collectively find another solution to the Aung San Suu Kyi debacle. But with the eyes of the world on Burma at this point in time anything the junta does will be under close scrutiny. The case against Aung San Suu Kyi has managed to enter all facets of society on every country of the world. India tried to mask the trial from their people only to discover that word has spread across the country. There is no question India’s population will want to know why India is so heavily invested in Burma. It is sure to be a political nightmare to those who are associated with Burma’s junta in the near future.
There is an old saying; “every dog has his day” and the bulldog of Burma, Than Shwe, managed to open up a Pandora’s Box that he will find impossible to close. His day of reckoning is close at hand and ironically by his own doing. From his inner circle of generals to the common foot soldier there is a quandary that is eating at the very fabric of Than Shwe’s regime and it is going to be his undoing, there is no question.
With Generals and soldiers veering close to revolt Than Shwe has shot himself in the foot with his latest fiasco. Now the issue is if he is actually competent or sane enough to be at the helm of this impoverished nation. Predictably it will be one of his own that puts an end to Gen. Than Shwe’s madness. For the general who accomplishes this task will come a hero’s welcome and history will remember him as the liberator of Burma. Than Shwe will be remembered for the atrocities he committed while his generals distance themselves from his madness to avoid prosecution. It has been envisioned that Burma would be freed from bondage by someone possibly from within Than Shwe’s circle and I welcome the prospect. Than Shwe better rush to his fortune teller and find out what the stars say. If the soothsayer is truthful they will tell him that the end is near.
In the meantime the world prays for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the liberation of her nation Burma.

Your Devil’s Advocate

In the Land of Lies, Burma

2009-06-05T04:42:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

As the world scrambles to address the sham trial of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and how to deal with the legalities of international law they forget one thing. The fact the people of Burma elected Daw Aung Suu Kyi and her NLD party overwhelmingly in a junta sponsored election 1990 makes the junta illegitimate and working outside of the law of the land.

The so called government of Burma is not a government at all regardless of the façade of legitimacy Gen. Than Shwe and his band of criminals dress this nation. Part and parcel the world at large is responsible for the plight of the Burmese people because they did nothing to address the cries of the people when it was obvious they wanted democracy and to be rid of the cancer called Than Shwe. The world was too involved in the free for all of Burma’s abundant natural resources as Than Shwe bought time and distance from his criminal act. And we let it happen.
In a most rare action the ever so tolerant Association of Southeast Asian Nations made a condemnation of Burma stating its honor and credibility was at stake. Now there is a movement to suspend Burma from its membership in this Asian organization. Frankly Burma has not been a nation since 1962 and the only real hope for legitimization was in 1990 when the people voted the military junta out then pro democracy Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party in. How obvious could the voice of the people be since this election was a historic landslide victory for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and a total rebuke of Than Shwe and his thugs? It’s simple math and plan as day the junta is not the will of the people just the end of a gun barrel.
Genocide, rape and slave labor are the signature of this band of thugs. The free world purports the cause of democracy and human rights and that appears to be a lie as well. We continually condemn Hitler, Pol Pot, The Green River Killer and other mass murderers yet we still allow the mass murderer of Burma to continue his blatant acts of crimes against humanity. The obscene part is Than Shwe’s use of religion to keep people at odds with one another. Than Shwe is no Buddhist and it will be ancient traditions that will prevail where man and humanity has failed.
Recently Than Shwe completed constructing the “Peace Pagoda” in Naypidaw with arrogance and total disregard to traditions and protocol. According to tradition a ruler who builds a Pagoda will fall from power in the near future as prescribed in past history. The fact Than Shwe and his regime has blood on their hands adds fuel to the fact he had no business doing anything “holy” for he is far from a pure and honest individual. On the opening day likened to a theme part 20 people were killed at the Peace Pagoda when the Ferris wheel collapsed. Traditional Buddhists called this a “sign” and a deadly omen for the regime. The fact he used Cyclone Nargis aid money to finance its construction also dishonored and disgraced this sacred Buddhist structure.
Earlier in May Than Shwe’s family including his wife Kyaing Kaying, family members and family members of the murderous generals participated in hoisting the hitdaw *(Sacred Umbrella) on top of the ancient Danok Pagoda in Dalla Township Than Shwe was restoring. Within Buddhist tradition everything about Than Shwe’s participation in either of these Pagoda’s dishonored and side stepped ancient protocol to say the very least. Rulers, murderers and criminals like Than Shwe were never to touch anything sacred, let alone build Pagodas or taint sacred objects such as the Danok Pagoda. Well, this weekend the 2,300 year old structure collapsed killing 20 people including men and women members of his military and injured 150 during the renovation. In an eerie eye witness account the sky drew very dark then suddenly a read light appeared along with strange haunting voice then the Pagoda came crumbling down.
It was said by elders the Danok Pagoda would shake when cruel and unkind people would donate to this ancient structure. The oral histories surrounding the Pagoda’s clearly has a mandate draped with customs, traditions and accountings of those who violated ancient protocol. Astrologers and elders view this as a grave sign for Than Shwe and his family as well as this blood soaked regime. Within all faiths and dogmas there are stories of how empires of greed were destroyed by the actions of an intangible force, ending their reign of terror. The fact we are living in a time of great change may be a coincidence to some. To others who’ve seen the power of the so called “intangible force” in action, Than Shwe’s bold acts of torture, rape and genocide while using religion as a tool will surely be rewarded.
So as the world looks on with great impotence and files more worthless sanctions maybe they should pay attention to what happens to Than Shwe and his kingdom of death and greed. This will be an example to all nations who use religion, race and gender to force the will of the people for monetary gain fore the era of greed is fast coming to a close. And there is nothing Than Shwe and his minions can do to stop it fore their days are numbered. Within my tribe we see the visions very clearly, not only for Than Shwe but for all of humanity. Dogmas from around the world point to this time we live yet everyone ignores them in quest for material gain over humanity. Every dog has his day and Than Shwe will surely have his but it will also be a grave omen to others who walk with the axiom of greed as well.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Than Shwe’s Roadmap Takes Ominous Turn

2009-05-27T00:48:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

When Ban Ki-Moon arrives in Burma he might take a trip to *Shan State where Burmese troops raped a 15 year old girl, tortured villagers in Hsi Hseng Township and cut the hands off villager U Lone. There is no question the kangaroo court of Burma will convict Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The evidence provided was poorly manufactured and the demeaning rhetoric circulated by the The New Light of Myanmar was bogus at best. The court proceedings were the sham of the century. Journalists and diplomats who attended the trial verified the fact Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s verdict was already predetermined. The trial as a whole was an illusion at best.

Burma’s Consul-General Ye Myint Aung added his two cents worth by suggesting John William Yettaw was either a spy or boyfriend of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. This would almost be laughable if it were not for the fact the kangaroo court will undoubtedly convict Daw Aung Suu Kyi with such hearsay and lies. It should be plain as the nose on a person’s face that a brazen crime has been committed before the eyes of the world. There was no speculating for seasoned Burma observers though. It was business as usual as another pesky witness to the junta’s 1990 defeat got silenced. Sadly Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is actually being convicted for being elected by an overwhelming majority of Burma’s population, “The Crime of Winning an Election”. I wonder where it is written in Than Shwe’s constitution?

Small wonder activists throughout Burma are staging a peaceful demonstration on May 30th. Maybe the world will see for them selves how desperate the people of Burma are to be liberated from tyranny and absolute brutality, the signature of Than Shwe’s regime. With security forces being placed strategically around major cities Than Shwe prepares for an offensive against his own people, again. Some people remain fearful with memories still fresh from 2007’s Saffron Revolution and turbulent period that ensued. They stand in contrast to the growing numbers of citizens and organizations wearing white who already gathering in tea shops and designated locations across Burma. The rallying call for peaceful demonstration on May 30th is resonating across the land as word spreads about this grass roots demonstration. The junta has ordered generals to look internally for potentially pro democracy soldiers within their ranks. That would not be hard since the vast majority of the military including the generals would rather see a progressive Burma. Than Shwe’s inner circle is no exception.

Like everything else that happens in life, every dog has his day and one day soon Than Shwe and his minions will have their day in court as well. They will join the ranks of Adolf Hitler’s thugs and the Khmer Rouge who also consulted astrologers and practiced rituals to guarantee their destinies. Than Shwe’s soothsayers did not read the fine print to him when making a deal with the Devil. Nothing is free and there is no question he will pay regardless if he lives or dies. There are many spirits waiting for him to arrive once he crosses over and they are eager to give him he’s just reward, for an eternity.
The latest list of junta spawn evidence includes books, sun glasses and clothing, so far. Burma’s propaganda ministers desperately need just a bit more creativity in evolving evidence and lies against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. So now John William Yettaw is either Aung San Suu Kyi’s sweetie or a secret agent. A love interest, you got to be kidding. And John is a proverbial “James Bond”, give me a break. We are led to believe John who is asthmatic, diabetic and overweight, grabbed a 5 liter bottle as a floatation device and donned his wonder flippers. Then he grabbed books, clothing, video camera and swam to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s compound with approximately 300 government guards, lights and security fences surrounding the place. The junta could add an ice chest to the items John left at Daw Aung Suu Kyi’s home and the court would accept it as credible evidence. People still remember when the junta brought her husband to her home when she was under house arrest in an effort to make her look, “weak and wanting”. Aung San Suu Kyi sent him away to the chagrin of junta propagandists. We are led to believe a woman who could turn her husband away is going to rush into the arms of Yettaw. Sorry Ye Myint Aung, that is just stupid.
Foreigners are heavily monitored and are only two steps from a government snitch they say. The only thing “clandestine” about this story is how the junta recruited or exploited John William Yettaw in the first place. This brings more credibility to a person who witnessed **John Yettaw step out of a cab, produce a red document to the security at the compound then lead to an undisclosed location. With the court taking orders directly from Naypyidaw no one in their right mind would testify against the military junta anyway. Imprisonment and death would surely await those who dared to speak out. After the trial I would worry about the defense attorneys fore they could face prison time for representing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. One thing is for certain, Burma is approaching a crossroad. Whether Than Shwe staged this event or not doesn’t really matter anymore. What’s more important is the final outcome since that is yet to be determined.

*http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15712
**http://burmadigest.info/2009/05/17/taxi-drivers-evidence-junta-deceives-to-arrest-aung-san-suu-kyi/

http://www.niknayman-niknayman.co.cc/2009/05/blog-post_1167.html
Your Devil’s Advocate

Burmese Junta Thugs Threaten U Win Tin’s Life

2009-05-27T00:45:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Bufflohair)Guevara

U Win Tin National League for Democracy Senior Officer, better known as “The Man of Steel” has been at the gates of Insein Prison since Daw Aung Suu Kyi’s arrival. Released from prison after spending 19 years, almost entirely in solitary confinement and left to die from illnesses, has held his ground. With his spirit unbroken and still very much alive this warrior of democracy once stated, “I will keep fighting until the emergence of democracy in this country”. *U Win Tin is defiant even with threats to his life by junta thugs.

It is known the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and the paramilitary group Swan Arr Shin have made threats to U Win Tin’s life. Undaunted, U Win Tin refuses bodyguards and stands defiant. Man of Steel and full of love for his country U Win Tin has become a beacon of courage and principle for the people of Burma and refuses to compromise his ethics in spite of his age and medical condition. He is a role for all Burmese people to emulate and this has made him a target for assassination by Gen. Than Shwe and his band of international criminals.
It is at this critical time in Burma’s history that the world must be vigilant and know that if this champion of democracy and morality is killed the criminal regime of Than Shwe’s Burma was wholly responsible for his murder. With the noose tightening around Than Shwe’s neck every day it is only a matter of time before the junta makes a move and begins another round of assassinations and secret kidnappings. This is junta justice better known as crimes against humanity at its best. The only problem is now like never before the whole world is watching.
Like the warlords of Somalia, Than Shwe and his band of cut throats and thieves are nothing more than thugs and do not deserve a place in the world arena. He is not a leader he is an extortionist who uses rape and murder to keep a country in bondage. He and his regime have violated every international law which places him in a category of criminal and undeserving of any consideration a leader of a nation. He was never elected by the people and only used force to gain control of this beleaguered nation. All Than Shwe and his generals deserve is to be arrested and tried in court for egregious crimes against humanity. His legacy will be nothing more than that of a mass murderer and all the corporations who’ve financed his escapades show be tried as co-conspirators.

Truly U Win Tin is one of Burma’s courageous patriots and deserves the worlds attention at this critical time.

*http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15701
Your Devil’s Advocate

Demonstration in Burma May 30th

2009-05-27T00:42:00.001+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Pro Democracy activists inside Burma want the world and their fellow countrymen to know that May 30th is the day the Fighting Peacock will arise in a National Demonstration. The world must know that the trial being held in Burma is a violation of Burma’s law. Than Shwe is making a mockery of his own rules in an effort to “fix” the illegal election on 2010 with his paranoid attempt to silence Aung San Suu Kyi.

Symbolically May 30 marks the 6 year anniversary of the Depaeyin Massacre when the military junta tired to assassinate Daw Aung Suu Kyi. Fortunately she survived only to be placed under arrest. But for hundreds of her followers their fate was met with bloodshed since they were beaten to death by junta thugs.

Sources within Burma request that in a show of solidarity that everyone wear white and gather at tea shops. Suggested places to gather are Shwedagon Pagoda, Hledan Junction and Insein Prison. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi stands defiant and strong and has urged that the people overcome their fears. Freedom From Fear and a show of support by the people of Burma will show the world that the flame of democracy still burns brightly in the hearts of millions. The people of Burma call for Ban Ki-Moon to personally engage this growing crisis at this juncture. What is happening to Aung San Suu Kyi is a criminal offence and a violation of human rights and it is time for the UN and the world to make a stand on this issue.

The National League for Democracy clearly does not agree with the premise of this sham trial do to its unconstitutionality and blatant criminality. They urge world leaders to demand a public and open trial at the very least.

For the riot police, soldiers and generals within Burma it is time for you to stand by your people and stand for freedom against tyranny and fear. You can’t murder your own people in order to keep the peace when it is the military junta who has declared war on its own citizens. You can’t be a party to crimes against humanity any longer. The junta is moving troops into position as of this writing. The people of Burma ask their soldiers to stand with them instead of against them on this historic day or remembrance and not repeat the travesties Than Shwe perpetrated on his own people.

If a crisis arises from this peaceful demonstration it is urges that the pro democracy leaders inside of Burma assume their leadership roles that has been prescribed to them. The man of steel, U Win Tin, has been at the gates of Insein Prison from the onset in support of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Exercising Freedom From Fear he stands with thousands of other citizens so that Aung San Suu Kyi does not stand alone. Freedom From Fear means freedom from tyranny and repression.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is a victim of a heinous crime and it is being perpetrated before the eyes of the world. With raw courage she defiantly stands up to the junta and it is time for Burma to stand up for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

By request of pro democracy activists it is requested that this message be spread around the world so everyone will be aware that the cause for freedom and democracy is not dead but very much alive. It is time for Ban Ki-Moon, the UN and the world to get involved and demand that Aung San Suu Kyi be released from this criminal detention. It is time to take a stand for the people of Burma and the duly elected leader of this enslaved nation.

For more information contact;

Burma Democratic Concern

www.bdcburma.org

Your Devil’s Advocate

Burma’s Ploy Backfires Big Time

2009-05-27T00:38:00.001+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

What was going to be an open and shut case with regard to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has gleaned unprecedented international attention and distain. Never before has there been such keen awareness on all levels of the world population. From the Internet, radio, television and feature films Burma is in the limelight like never before. The plight of Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma are no longer a quiet diplomatic issue relegated to the impotent United Nations and meaningless sanctions. Now the people of the world are watching with great intensity and they are not pleased.

Than Shwe’s plan to eliminate Aung San Suu Kyi’s presence during his sham 2010 election has woefully backfired. Inquisitive citizens from every nation on Earth are seeking out information and hard facts about the plight of Burma and they are shocked at with they’ve discovered. Finally the world is paying attention and the efforts of all the pro democracy organizations over the years is bearing fruit in Than Shwe’s unexpected harvest. Now people are fast becoming aware of the once secret and corrupt world of Gen. Than Shwe and his criminal regime.

Average people who only a few weeks ago did not even know where Burma was are educating themselves about the criminal regime and the criminal corporations who’ve sponsored Than Shwe’s bloody exploits. International corporations and nations who’ve financed Burma’s blood bath for financial gain are coming under the microscope and it will not be long before Than Shwe’s secret partners in crime are dragged into the streets of public opinion. Guilty of slavery, rape and murder many corporations from around the world gleaned a handsome profit from Than Shwe’s criminally corrupt regime and now the gory details of their exploits have a willing audience.

Though the military junta of Burma is struggling with damage control the cat is out of the bag. The floodgates have burst as outrage of not only Than Shwe’s government but with impotent politicians and the United Nations become a central issue. The public from all points of the globe are coming to realize the power they truly have. They are the consumers of the world who’ve filled the coffers of international corporations. Without the consumer dollar corporations would shrivel up and disappear fore no one can be forced to buy anything they don’t want to. Now these once invincible conglomerates face an adversary they are powerless to influence, extort or lobby, the angry consumer. And as the truth about once secret deals with Burma’s criminal regime comes into focus the public will exclude products associated with these firms.

There will be no bail-out for these corporations and the individuals who were the liaison and go betweens with the regime will undoubtedly join Than Shwe and his generals in the court of public opinion. They will also be held accountable for the people who were used as slaves and murdered with the blessing of Than Shwe. International corporate goons will be identified by junta generals who seek immunity in the eventual international tribunal for “crimes against humanity”. Ironically this is an aspect of Globalization corporations did not calculate into their equation as they gleaned handsome profits at the expense of humanity on every continent.

“If corporate and economic issues are to take precedents over humanity then it’s time for humanity to use economics in its battle for human rights, fight fire with fire”

The plight of Aung San Suu Kyi and the People of Burma is a microcosm of the plight of the people of the world in the face of corporate greed. The consumer dollar is the Achilles Tendon in the once invincible corporate body armor. Now the individual consumer is becoming aware of the power they truly have as average folks around the world rally support for Aung San Suu Kyi and the People of Burma. By withholding one dollar from any corporation who does business with Burma you pierce the armor of corporations fore without your money they are nothing. Everything comes full circle and the days of brow beating from corporations and lack luster politicians is coming to an end. In releasing Aung San Suu Kyi and the People of Burma we will break the stranglehold of corporate greed around the world as well fore we possess the ultimate weapon of corporate mass destruction, the all mighty dollar.

If you don’t buy, they will die.

Dirty List provided by Burma Campaign UK

http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/dirty_list/dirty_list_details.html

Kabar Ma Kyay Bu!

Your Devil’s Advocate

People Power Sanctions will Defeat Burma’s Tyrant

2009-05-27T00:36:00.001+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Whether or not a cab driver gave John William Yettaw a ride from the airport to Aung San Suu Kyi’s compound on May 2nd would be of no importance to the junta. Video and a host of eye witnesses would have no bearing in this case either since it’s not about justice or the rule of law. No one in their right mind would testify since it would be a death sentence if they opposed the junta. It’s all about securing the 2010 election and Aung San Suu Kyi needed to be neutralized in order to guarantee success for the military junta. Sadly, Gen. Than Shwe shot himself in the foot with this latest egregious and criminal act. Not only world leaders are appalled by his conduct but the average citizen’s of the world have joined the ranks of the disgusted.

More and more Asian nations are taking a stand on the side of sensibility and honor as this drama unfolds. Call it a marketing ploy but it will soon come to pass when consumers realize their power over corporations and politicians. If millions of people across the globe decide not to buy products from countries and corporations favorable to Than Shwe they can negatively influence the corporate bottom line and cripple economies. Now that everyone on the planet is aware of Than She’s scam it is time to launch a financial offensive.

Store shelves in every country on the planet are filled with goods and supplies manufactured by a myriad of corporations who are invested in Burma in spite of sanctions imposed on Than Shwe’s government. This is the primary reason sanctions did not succeed in the first place. It is time to sanction companies who’ve supported Burma in earnest, but really mean it. If everyone who is aware of Aung San Suu Kyi’s plight is truly sincere about their concern they will pay more attention to the names of corporations and countries that finance Burma. Nations can’t achieve what the average citizen can as far as sanctions are concerned. We have the same financial clout as The World Bank if we put our minds to it. Daewoo is only one of many corporations heavily invested in Burma’s tyranny and they fill shelves with electronic contraptions and cars on every highway on the Globe. If everyone “just said no” to Daewoo products Daewoo would be forced to divest in Burma. Suzuki is another one of Japans corporations who are in partnership with Than Shwe. US and European firms also share the dishonor of working with Asia’s devil. See *“Dirty List” for more details.

CPG a subsidiary of **Australian engineering firm Downer EDI pulled out of the lucrative Naypyidaw Airport project when a freelance journalist exposed their involvement with Than Shwe. If you don’t buy corporations will die proving the all mighty dollar is a corporate weapon of mass destruction. Than Shwe may ignore the outcry from the world but he will not be able to ignore nations and corporations who divest themselves of Burma. China is waiting in the wings to see how far the world will go to before they state their position. Why, well according to sources inside of China it is all about commerce to them and if it is deemed more profitable to join the movement to free Burma, they will. But if this is nothing but another impotent attempt with no momentum they will side with Burma. It’s all about the money and this is why it is absolutely important that the people of the globe unite in a grass roots boycott of goods, countries and corporations who are invested in Burma. That will wipe the smile off Than Shwe’s face.

If one freelance journalist can expose and force a billion dollar corporation to cease and desist operations in Burma then an army of zealous people from around the world can cripple all the major corporations of the globe if they do not cease and desist in operations within Burma. China would side with humanity since it would be more profitable. If we isolated companies and countries doing business with Than Shwe this would send a financial weapon of mass destruction into their already frail economies. With the eyes of the world on Burma today participation in a massive financial crack down would be a resounding success. Governments and Sanctions can’t do it alone. But if everyone on an individual basis were to take the time to expose companies involved in Burma we can make a difference. Without consumer cash corporations and economies will die.

If corporate and economic issues are to take precedents over humanity then it’s time for humanity to use economics in its battle for human rights. Fight fire with fire.

*Dirty List provided by Burma Campaign UK
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/dirty_list/dirty_list_details.html
**http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1866&Itemid=217
Your Devil’s Advocate

Than Shwe Awakens the Fighting Peacock

2009-05-17T17:52:00.000+06:30

By Carlos (Buffalohair)Guevara

Its business as usual for the corrupt government of Burma as Gen. Than Shwe prepares for another jury-rigged trial. The target of his wrath will undoubtedly be charged with a specially prepared criminal offence to guarantee an expedient conviction. The victim of Burma’s kangaroo system will be whisked away to a desolate jungle prison and tortured weekly as usual. The attorney’s who represented their client would face criminal charges for defending a criminal and spend some time in the clink for their efforts.

For Than Shwe the clock was ticking as the proposed 2010 election moved closer. With thousands of people safely in jungle prisons & jails or dead the junta was hopeful they will win, this time. The only obstacle that stood in their way was a woman (Daw Aung San Suu Kyi) who won the last election before being placed under house arrest for the crime of winning a land slide victory. Running out of excuses, the junta was seeking a more legitimate looking reason to keep her incarcerated. They realized that if Aung San Suu Kyi were released before the election the junta would surely loose. Then along came John William Yettaw, the notorious Suu Kyi Swimmer.
Ecstatic, the junta fired up its propaganda machine and began a multi media smear campaign to tarnish the reputation of the jailed leader of Burma. Two prominent attorneys’, Aung Thein and Khin Maung Shein, applied to represent Aung San Suu Kyi in the pending case. They were promptly dismissed from Burma’s Bar and their licenses to practice law were revoked. There is no question they soon will be in jail for volunteering their services to Aung San Suu Kyi. The duo served time for defending other political activists in the past. Than Shwe’s roadmap to democracy, an elaborate charade.

Though the charges against Suu Kyi were weak the junta was comfortable with the merits of the case since they’ve convicted thousands of other people with impunity in the past. All the junta needed was an excuse and unwittingly John William Yattaw provided the perfect ruse. Than Shwe’s roadmap to democracy has become a superhighway of deceit, death and debauchery. Smugly the military junta awaits Aung Suu Kyi’s trial since it will show the people of Burma and the world that the military regime still is in absolute control. But unlike all the other incidents this one will not go as planned.

Never before has there been so much attention focused on the criminal activities of Than Shwe. Unlike past events that occurred with little fanfare Than Shwe inadvertently rallied more attention than ever before. Now it’s not just a few politicians and a couple activists who are aware of his crimes against humanity. People from all walks of life people are talking about Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi and Than Shwe. People who only a week ago did not have a clue where Burma was are learning more and more about this country and its merry band of murderers. They are also more inquisitive about the outside investors who’ve profiteered on the blood of this hapless nation. People also want to know why their politicians have not done anything to stop Burma’s holocaust. It would appear this event has sparked a wildfire of concern that will not be easily extinguished in the foreseeable future since it’s getting hotter.

The more Than Shwe maneuvers the more he exposes his absolute fear and paranoia. Like a person struggling to get out of quick sand, Than Shwe is finding himself getting deeper and deeper in a quagmire of his own design. His inner circle keeps changing as he shifts from one suspicion to another further alienating his original core. His plan to demote and turn army’s of the ceasefire groups into border guards is not going well. These states do not want to be infiltrated, divided up then neutralized like his plan calls for. Ceasefire groups who’ve already accepted their demotion to border guard are suffering mass desertions because the Burmese Army uses them as slaves. The Burmese Army is in turmoil as well since the generals live lavishly on Nargis and other humanitarian aid leaving the foot soldier in poverty. So if they treat their own like this, ceasefire groups will fare much less whence they lay down their arms.

The Fighting Peacock has awakened within Burma and people on the streets feel it. On the outside Burma Democratic Concern as well as 71 other democracy groups from around the world are organizing a world wide response to Than Shwe’s latest assault on Aung San Suu Kyi and democracy on Monday the 18th. With awareness at an all time high this is the time for the voice of the people to be heard loud and clear. Its not just about the politicians anymore its about humanity and the cry for freedom that was once ignored. The Global Day of Action for Burma will further raise awareness as well as send a message from the voting public from around the world.
But you must give Than Shwe credit since he was the one who tipped his hand exposing the desperation and futility that is haunting his regime. Forever paranoid and forever fearful of retribution that awaits him Than Shwe knows his days are numbered. Everything has a price; no one rides for free and now is the time for Than Shwe to pay his bill. Destiny awaits those who dare to embrace it rather than run from it. This is the time of great change and Burma is a good place to start.

Global Action for Burma

http://gab-burma.weebly.com/
Your Devil’s Advocate

Insein’s Newest Guest

2009-05-15T04:12:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Aung San Suu Kyi was lead away from her home by government security forces. *Her destination, Burma’s chamber of horrors, Insein Prison. She will await trial then into a cell to serve out her sentence in Burma’s corrupt kangaroo court system. With no concern for justice or the law Than Shwe has concocted a scheme to break the back of the democracy movement within Burma. His failure to persuade ethnic cease fire groups to become fanciful porters and border lackeys was a major set back on his roadmap to total domination. But not all was lost fore he succeeded in arresting Aung San Suu Kyi on bogus charges in an effort to assert his authority and assure a victory in the illegal 2010 election. And the world looks impotently at yet another horrendous act of inhumanity and absolute corruption.

Than Shwe’s propaganda machines have been turning out some wild stories and it is my suggestion they find jobs in Hollywood. The scripts would almost make a B-Rated movie as ridiculous as the stories are. Of course Than Shwe is throwing in a race card to try and rally support for his lies. His lackey’s speak about morality, virtue and the scarlet woman Aung San Suu Kyi. Guess the wholesale murder of ethnic minorities is not as immoral as having someone intruding in your privacy without your permission. Bombing and maiming innocent men, women and children is just a walk in the park. Spreading vile and incurable diseases to cull the opposition and eliminate villagers also meets higher moral standards. Having sex with children then butchering them to death is exempt from moral scrutiny in the junta’s eyes. Child soldiers stand as a testament to Than Shwe’s concern for the youth of his nation and slaves continue to be killed when they can’t work. Yes, Than Shwe is the pillar of the community, provided you live in hell.

So let the junta spread their vile lies about Aung San Suu Kyi. It is only themselves they are trying to fool fore the world already knows the truth. Than Shwe and his criminal regime are a lie and a fraud. And now the ball is in the court of the international community. It is time to put up your money where your mouth is. The days of rhetoric and feel good speeches have come to no avail. The people of Burma have made their voices heard at great risk to their lives and civil liberties.

With volumes of videos, pictures and eye witnesses surely there is one scrap of evidence that could be used in a court of law. Maybe the facts are too harsh and distasteful to think about because of the gruesome and violent nature in which people were killed by the Burmese Army. How grizzly does a murder have to be before it is a punishable offence under international law? What exactly has to happen to justify a comprehensive world wide response? Obviously morality, humanity and the democratic voice of a nation has little influence in today’s world. Small wonder the world is faced with an unprecedented financial disaster fore money is the only motivator in world politics. It’s all about the money.

I know if I was in their position I would be looking towards my friends to help me out. After all, that’s what friends do, at least in my side of the street. Burma was a critical ally during WWII. Now we sit paralyzed in fear of upsetting the ox cart of lucratively in Asian markets. At one time life was considered priceless, now it’s considered collateral damage and a side bar in the grand scheme of things. If we turn out back on Burma at this juncture, we’ve sold our sold to the devil and we will be rewarded accordingly, in the grand scheme of things. If we don’t stand for humanity there is no civilization.

*http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=15632

John William Yettaw, what were you thinking?

Your Devil’s Advocate

Jurisprudence Than Shwe Style

2009-05-15T04:11:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

In spite of eye witnesses to the intrusion of *Daw Aung Suu Kyi’s home by swimmer John William Yeattaw, the military junta is eager to get the wheels of justice rolling. They are seeking 3 years prison time for Aung San Suu Kyi on the grounds she violated the terms of her house arrest. It all boils down to this; the junta is desperate to get Aung San Suu Kyi out of sight and out of mind before the 2010 election. Sadly the cat is out of the bag and Than Shwe’s world is under the microscope like never before. He may not care but investors who’ve kept in the shadows will soon be the fodder of public scrutiny.

The junta’s plan to turn all cease fire groups in to border guards and infiltrate their homelands has hit a major snag. The **Wa found the terms totally unacceptable on many levels and it is a sure bet the other cease fire groups will read between the lines. They will discover Than Shwe’s scheme to infiltrate, dissect and neutralize them over a period of time. The National League for Democracy as well as the myriad of pro democracy organizations and associations are military objectives just as armed ethnic cease fire groups are. Aung San Suu Kyi is a symbolic military objective. By defaming and debasing her Than Shwe believes he can break the spirit of the democracy movement. Incarcerating the iconic figure and hiding her in the jungle like the other prominent political figures is than Shwe’s ultimate objective.

In another story a ***United Wa State Army official punched the lights out of a visiting Military Affairs Security (MAS) corporal over a sexual assault on a girl in his region. Seems the smart mouth thug from Naypyidaw thought it was OK to assault a young girl. The Wa officer did not find any humor in the punks reasoning. The punk told the Wa officer that the incident was none of his business and that the girl was not from his tribe anyway so why should he care. That’s when the Wa officer socked the mouthy corporal and knocked him on his ass. It’s funny how the junta tries to use race or religion to start trouble between groups.

Then there is the story of ****Brigadier General Kaung Myat, Commander of No. 5 Military Operations Command, Taungoke, Arakan State. He was a very zealous and productive chum of Than Shwe. In his area of operation he was notorious for his aggressive use of slaves in construction projects. As we all know, there is no saying no to the military fore it is death if you do. In any event Generalissimo Kaung Myat and his personal security force were on their way to Bawgaligyi. Down the bumpy road they went until they accidentally ran into the “Bad Boyz of the KNLA 2nd Brigade”. Needless to say the Boyz from the Hood cleaned house and they did not get a scratch. As for the general and his crew, let’s just say they died like true gangsters.

*http://www.dvb.no/english/news.php?id=2517

**http://www.shanland.org/news/politics/2570-wa-mull-over-how-to-say-no.html

*** http://www.shanland.org/news/politics/2573-junta-spy-hit-by-wa-official.html

****http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15630

Your Devil’s Advocate

3 Year Sentence for Aung San Suu Kyi?

2009-05-15T04:10:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

In a spirited turn of events the military junta is seeking 3 additional years of confinement for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for accepting John Yethaw (Rangoon Swimmer) into her home last week. This reeks of set up and a total denial of Aung San Suu Kyi’s rights even as prescribed by Than Shwe. As usual Than Shwe is penciling in laws to suite his political needs in defiance of even his bogus laws. Apparently he does not realize he is only furthering the resolve of pro democracy groups and now, the general public.

Another turn of events from reliable intelligence sources within Burma is news John Yethaw may be forced to admit to lies the junta has prepared for him. Either by torture or by administering drugs it is expected John Yethaw will admit to untrue statements with regard to the intrusion of Aung San Suu Kyi’s home last week. This will raise another issue since John is an American citizen and maybe subject to cruel and unusual punishment. The military junta has shown total disregard for international laws as well as their own and will stoop to any level to obtain their objectives. Extortion and torture are standard operating procedure as well as crimes against humanity.

There is no question John Yethaw will admit to some of the most vile allegations the junta can muster. Ironically it was an unnamed member of the security force who verified that Aung San Suu Kui was not at all amused by the intrusion early in the investigation. It was the same individual who clearly noted that Aung San Suu Kyi stayed in the second floor while John was relegated to the first floor. The rumor mill from the junta has already spawned myths that this was not John’s first visitation. But by saying so makes the security force guarding Aung San Suu Kyi’s home look inept and bungling at best.

As another journalist said earlier this week; “Only Aung San Suu Kyi will know the real truth” As we all know, the military junta and its publication “The New Light of Myanmar” are nothing more than propaganda machines filled with lies and fabrications. So be prepared for more sewage from the desk of Gen. Than Shwe fore the next round will surely be filled with salacious material in an effort to disgrace Aung San Suu Kyi. This will coincide with the efforts of the military junta to place Aung San Suu Kyi in prison for 3 years. After all, this is what it’s all about, eliminating ALL opposition to the illegal 2010 election.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Asia

2009-05-15T04:09:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Since Burma’s General Than Shwe got away with theft, rape and genocide the death of Daw Aung Suu Kyi would be the grand finale to his repugnant and reprehensible career. Aside from the nonsense and rhetoric that came from the John Yethaw incident (Rangoon Swimmer), one fact remains, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is ill and in need of medical attention. Knowing this fact as well as detaining her personal physician makes Gen. Than Shwe a party to murder if Aung Suu Kyi succumbs from her present condition. It would also mark the beginning of a bloody end to Than Shwe’s regime fore he would no longer have a hostage. The world at large would also be culpable since they witnessed and did nothing but make more feel good speeches and useless declarations. Exactly what will the world of witnesses do now?

Burma is on the verge of internal revolt from other factions as cease fire groups begin to realize they have been taken for suckers. Riot Police in Maungdaw and Buthidaung Townships who’ve signed on with Than Shwe have already begun to abandon their posts. Apparently they were not happy with some of the conditions for them allying themselves with the military junta, slave labor being one main area of contention. The Tatmadaw has ordered all Arakan police stations to hunt down the deserters.

Other cease fire groups in Kachin, Shan and Karen regions will soon discover the deception perpetrated by the junta to gain control of these regions. The junta has already built outposts in these regions as a cease fire partner but in all actuality the junta has infiltrated these regions. It is the age old “divide and conquer” axiom as the junta continually lies to each ethnic group about the other. The utilization of religious differences has also become a tool of deception to further divide the nation. The addition of border conflicts the junta seems to keep quiet about is yet another hot bed ready to burst at the seams.

Dissention within the ranks of Than Shwe’s military is rampant as the junta continues to line the pockets of the generals leaving the soldier to fend for themselves. His generals are quietly at odds with one another since they all want to be the crime boss when Than Shwe dies this year from cancer or syphilis.

China has become a victim of its own corporate greed with growing dependency on world opinion to bolster their financial bottom line. They urged the military junta to reconcile amicable since they are aware of the deteriorating peace that prevails in Asia. China is on the verge of internal strife as well as growing numbers of Chinese groups are left out of the financial loop as China’s fragile economy begins to take a major hit. And Russia waits quietly to settle a score with China as well.

War is inevitable for this region. Combined with the conflict in Pakistan and Afghanistan it is only a matter of time before total pandemonium ties all the conflicts together and sides are drawn. What the world was fearful of starting (war) is going to happen regardless of all the gibberish they expound about world peace and humanity. It’s all about money & greed and Than Shwe is nothing but a microcosm of what is inherently wrong with the world as a whole. It is a grave omen when educated and sophisticated people choose “economics over humanity” in the arena of world politics.

Now a world leader who was duly elected by the people in a democratic election may die from illness because a common criminal ordained it. All the empty talk about freedom and democracy as well as human rights is meaningless and pointless rhetoric at this juncture. It is obvious the world only does things for monetary gain. To bad these so called world leaders can’t see past their check books. Ironically, if they choose to ignore the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi the domino effect of their inaction may very well usher in the very war they hoped to avoid. If Daw Aung Suu Kyi dies in bondage this could be the straw that breaks the camels back in the fragile balancing act of peace in Asia and the world.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Burma's Infamous Swimmer

2009-05-15T04:08:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

The infamous Rangoon Swimmer was a creative sort when you take a gander at his flippers. They are sort of creepy in a way but defiantly functional and improvised. Course his self photo was not exactly charming to say the least. And I could imagine Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s surprise to find this character at her door step dripping wet with Star Wars Flippers on. Wonder if he’s getting the royal treatment at “Club Insein”. I wonder if this is all a set up in the first place. I just wonder…….

It is heartening to note that for the most part the people of Burma are numb to the junta’s propaganda machines. They’ve been conditioned by years of bold faced lies from the regime as well as the closure of publications that would dare to question the regime. Censorship is a way of life in Burma and its getting worse by the day as the proposed 2010 election gets closer. The rumor mill has already cracked up a few yarns about the event but it is obvious they were generated in Naypyidaw.

In a way it is kind of stupid for Than Shwe to even try and berate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi though. After all the death and rape his regime has committed they have no right tossing stones at anyone. Virtue and morality is nonexistent in the Burma Than Shwe built.

With all the commotion about the swimmer it was also reveled Aung San Suu Kyi was ill. Than Shwe disallowed her doctor to visit her but allowed his assistant. In any event this should be in the media’s eye as well since this would be a form of murder if she died from her illness. Blood would still be on Than Shwe’s hands.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Burma’s Plot Thickens

2009-05-11T17:45:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

With movement around the home of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in part over the swimmer flap many other concerns surfaced. Speculation she could possibly be released raised even more serious concerns. Knowing the junta’s track record every move they would make would be calculated down to the last detail. Nothing is ever left to chance by the military regime. Their actions require deep analysis and intelligence to decipher the ulterior motives and their grave consequences.

The swimming incident has already drawn a multitude of hearsay and conjecture with the facts of the event still skewed at best. The immediate concern was fear the junta would try to besmirch Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with salacious and lascivious innuendos in an effort to taint her reputation. It would not be the first time the junta tried to insinuate Aung San Suu Kyi was less than reputable. *According to an unnamed security staffer the intruder was remanded to the first floor of Aung San Suu Kyi’s home since Suu Kyi considered this illegal and unacceptable from the onset. The swimmers intrusion also raised security issues since there has been a robbery in the neighborhood where Aung San Suu Kyi resides. Sounds like an inside job to me since this neighborhood is so well guarded. Anything is possible in a nation where justice is administered at the end of a gun barrel.

The Burmese people reminded me of an incident where the junta brought her husband to the house during another period of confinement. The junta wanted to show that Aung San Suu Kyi was weak and in need. To the chagrin of the junta Aung San Suu Kyi turned her husband away knowing this was a junta ploy to defame & debase her and the NLD. The junta offered to release her if she moved to England and turn her back on Burma. She refused and chose to stand for her people. There is no question the junta played many psychological games with Aung San Suu Kyi during her periods of confinement. In another test of Aung San Suu Kyi’s will the junta allowed her to speak to her dying husband on the phone. In a sad ending to their love affair it was said he died while on the phone with his wife.

With personal loss as well as the opportunity to be set free Aung San Suu Kyi chooses to stand for her nation and suffer the consequences for her decision. Her character is legendary and that of a true leader. Any attempt by the junta to defame her would be meaningless in light of her personal sacrifice.

As for the scuttlebutt about the possibility of Aung San Suu Kyi’s release, still no official word on this matter but this did pose some very real concerns for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s safety. Myo Thein, Director of Burma Democratic Concern, mentioned that the junta was never to be trusted. If the junta was going to release Aung San Suu Kyi there would be ulterior motives, one immediate concern being assassination. Fact is Myo Thein stressed that Aung San Suu Kyi’s security would be an absolute priority if and when she was released. Mortal fear for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s safety has predominated when the possibility of her release first circulated. Mindful of growing world wide attention the junta would simply contract the assassination out and buy time & distance from her release date according to sources within Burma. As of now, time is the task master.

On a positive note, what if the junta was actually considering reconciliation? Than Shwe could alter the course of history and build on a new legacy. The people would finally be free. Burma would prosper as she has done in the distant past and become a viable player in the world economy. Commerce would flourish in Southeast Asia in ways once thought impossible. And most important of all, genocide would come to a halt and the farmers would come back home to tend their fields once again. We all have our dreams and mine are for the people of Burma.

*http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1475874.php/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_says_swimming_visitor_stayed_downstairs_

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair

Will Daw Aung San Suu Kyi be Free?

2009-05-11T17:44:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

As I was doing my Burmese broadcast, pheonixradio.net, I was interrupted by news Aung San Suu Kyi would soon be free. At that time I was contacted by sources within Burma and they verified the existence of a multitude of news reporters near and around Aung San Suu Kyi’s residence. But the verification came with reservations.

The immediate concerns were for Aung San Suu Kyi since assassination came immediately to mind with my Burmese constituents. Though this would be construed as a joyous event to the free world, to the people of Burma they look with apprehension. "Is this just a propaganda ploy to justify or cover up an assassination", was the top of the list of worries. I would like to think Gen. Than Shwe wanted to be a part of Burma’s positive history rather than the “Great Oppressor” of the contemporary era. Only time will tell at this juncture. The death of Aung San Suu Kyi would be the doom of all who invested in tyranny.

It is advisable that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi be in the public’s eye, just in case this was a ploy. It would only be obvious this were not a ploy if Aung San Suu Kyi were to establish a working dialogue with Gen. Than Shwe. Then change would be spontaneous, all encompassing and the world would know it was genuine.

From this vantage point, this is all speculation. I am eager to read the feeds that lay before me at this time.

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair

National League for Democracy Shwegondaing Declaration

2009-05-11T17:43:00.001+06:30

We the members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) including the Central Executive Committee, representatives of State and Division organizational committees, the Members of Parliament- elect still standing with the NLD, representatives of the Central Women’s Affairs Committee, representatives of the Youth Affaires implementation Committee gathered on the 28th and 29th of April 2009 in the meeting hall of the Head Quarter of the NLD on West Shwegondaing Street and held discussions on the political and organizational Situations and the analytical report regarding the Constitution with the aim to resolve all the political impasse in striving to build up the Union of Burma as a democratic state in accordance with the inspiration of all the people.

This Shwegondaing Declaration is issued to inform the people as the agreement of the majority was obtained through these discussions for the plan to create a fair climate for the evolvement of a dialogue which is the best means for resolving the above impasse.

The NLD believes that the current political problems facing the country such as

The immediate and unconditional release of all the political prisoners including U Tin Oo, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi;
Review of the Constitution;
Establishment of a genuine Union based on the principle of equality for all the ethnic nationalities; recognition in some ways of the result of the 1990 general election; are the main issues to he resolved immediately for the benefit of the country and the people.
The stands of the League are:

(a) Unconditional Release of All the Political Prisoners including U Tin Oo and Daw Aung San Su Kyi

(b) Review of the Draft Constitution (2008)

A State Constitution based on the democratic principles is required to establish a democratic state - The not yet in force Constitution (2008) of the State Peace and Development Council contains provisions which are not in accord with democratic principles. Therefore the emergence of a Constitution which is acceptable to all the people including the ethnic nationalities is urgently required.

(c) Organization in this Union of Burma where all the ethnic nationalities live together, a unity based on the principles of equal opportunity and mutual good will must be established. Genuine democracy can flourish only on such a fertile ground. Furthermore, all the political parties must have the freedom to organize. Therefore, the offices of the State! Divisional and Township Organization Committees which were closed and sealed since May 31 2003, said to be a temporary measure, should be reopened immediately together with those of the parties of ethnic nationalities.

(d) Recognition of the result of the Multi Party Democracy General Election (1990)

At the present recognition in some way of the People’s Parliament, which is the outcome of the 1990 elections, is urgently needed in accordance with the Section 3 of the People’s Parliament Election law. Only then the democratic traditions can be maintained. Otherwise the State Peace and Development would seem to be breaching their own laws and regulations enacted by themselves.

(e) Political Dialogue

The NLD has been constantly striving for finding solution through political dialogue since 1988. Daw Aung San Su Kyi, the General Secretary of the NLD has candidly stated the fact that she can work with flexible approach according to the political necessity as follows: “We have repeatedly stated that the NLD would negotiate flexibly to get beneficial outcomes for the people of Burma. Nevertheless such dialogues should not aim for the good of the NLD nor should they aim for the benefit of the authorities. Only the interests of the people of Burma should be targeted.”

Therefore, the NLD requests again with pure intention that the dialogues that can resolve all the problems be carried out without fail. The agenda of the dialogue envisaged by the League is as follows:

(1) Unconditional dialogue participated by the decision makers should be commenced immediately based on the principles of mutual respects and national reconciliation.

(2) During the dialogues the issues of provision of equal opportunities for the ethnic nationalities: the unconditional release of all political prisoners including U Tin Oo and Daw Aung San Su Kyi: review of the Constitution (2008); recognition in some way of the People’s Parliament which is the result of 1990 election; issues of the elections of the future: development of the living condition of the people etc shall be considered.

(3) To arrange to recognize the result of the 1990 elections by approving the result of the dialogues at the People’s Parliament which is to be formed according to the People’s Parliament Election Law.

(4) All the stake holders to follow unitedly the political course for the future delineated by the agreements of the dialogue as adopted by the People’s Parliament.

(f) Attitude towards the Possible Future Elections

The NLD firmly believes that enduring political stability and the development of the country could be achieved only by resolving the fundamental problems mentioned above.

The people shall be informed what will be its stand if the State Peace and Development Council -uni-laterally hold upcoming elections at their own arrangement, without considering to resolve through dialogue.

The League accepts that elections are the landmarks to be passed in the journey to democracy. The NLD will not abandon the struggle for democracy. The League will stand by the people in all circumstances.

Therefore if the State Peace and Development Council unilaterally hold possible upcoming elections with their own plan and if:

(1) All the political prisoners including the leaders of the NLD were unconditionally released,

(2) The provisions of the (2008) Constitution which are not in accord with the democratic principles were amended,

(3) All inclusive free and fair general election were held under international supervision:

The National League for Democracy, through this Shwegondaing Declaration, states that, anticipating for the realization of the benefit of the whole people, it intends to participate in the elections only after gravely considering as a special case and after studying the coming Party Registration Act and the Laws relating to the Elections.

As per the resolution made at the meeting of the Central Executive Committee held on 29 April 2009

Central Executive Committee

National League for Democracy

Rangoon

Shwegondaing Declaration’s Quandary of Responses

2009-05-11T17:42:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Quietly Burma’s government has responded to the National Leagues *Shwegondaing Declaration. Armed security forces have been taking positions around the city of Rangoon and other areas within Burma. Some people are critical of the NLD response to Than Shwe’s election plans, most notably Burmese political analyst Aung Naing Oo was quoted as saying;

“If the NLD considers itself a revolutionary group, then they should clearly reject the junta’s elections on grounds that it would be manipulated, but if they consider themselves a political party, it would be wise for them to contest the elections.”

I approached Myo Thein, Director of Burma Democratic Concern and posed the question about the uncertainty of the National Leagues for Democracy’s stance. I also addressed the concerns of complacency by the NLD. Myo Thein issued a clarification in this statement.

The position of the National League for Democracy:

(a) Release of All the Political Prisoners

(b) Review of the Draft Constitution (2008) which are not in accord with democratic principles.

This is referring to the cases such as military is taking 25% of the seats, military commander is in absolute authority and military can dissolve the parliament any time, etc. Here, NLD is meant to amend such things. (Undemocratic)

(c) NLD's offices should be reopened immediately together with those of the parties of ethnic nationalities.

NLD is demanding that the junta to reopen all party offices.

(d) Recognition of the result of the 1990 Election
Here what NLD means is to reconvene the people's parliament based on 1990 elections result which can be translated as the recognition of 1990 elections results.

(e) Political Dialogue
Agenda of the dialogue envisaged by the League is as follows:
(1) Dialogue by the decision makers (Aung San Suu Kyi and Senior General Than Shwe).

(2) Dialogues issues
• equal opportunities for the ethnic nationalities:
• release of all political prisoners :
• review of the 2008 Constitution;
• recognition of the People’s Parliament which is the result of 1990 election (the next step of the election is to allow to convene people's parliament to election wining party);
• issues of the elections of the future:
• development of the living condition of the people
(3) To arrange to recognize the result of the 1990 elections

Here NLD meant to say that allow us the convene parliament which can be translated as recognizing 1990 election result. At the parliament, we will approve the outcomes of the dialogue.

(4) All the stake holders to follow unitedly the political course for the future delineated by the agreements of the dialogue as adopted by the People’s Parliament.

Here NLD meant to say that we are ready to cooperate with you.

(f) Attitude towards the Possible Future Elections

The following are the NLD's minimum conditions required to determine whether or not to participate in the 2010 election. Areas of concern are;

IF the military junta unilaterally conducts the proposed elections under the conditions prescribe by their own plan.

And;

IF:

(1) All the political prisoners unconditionally released,

(2) The provisions of the (2008) Constitution were amended,

(3) All inclusive free and fair general election were held under international supervision:

Then it intends to participate in the elections only after gravely considering as a special case and after studying the coming Party Registration Act and the Laws relating to the Elections.
Myo Thein
Director
Burma Democratic Concern

Clearly Gen Than Shwe was using extortion tactics in forcing the hand of the NLD and to a major extent they needed to issue a response. After reading Myo Thein’s response to my query it is obvious the NLD is still holding fast the core tenets of their position.

With security forces moving into position at this juncture I question the junta’s motives since strong arm tactics have always been the rule of thumb in dealing with any form of opposition.

The stage is set for a test of wills and hopefully the junta will choose the mature and progressive route in resolving the issue of reconciliation. Bloodshed only led Burma down the path of social and economic ruin. It is far cry from the gem of the Orient she once was. With the world watching the outcome is yet to be determined.

* http://www.mizzima.com/news/election-2010/2044-nld-sets-pre-conditions-for-role-in-elections.html

Your Devil’s Advocate

Extortion Insures Burma’s 2010 Election

2009-05-11T17:40:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

When criminals write the laws a nation is lead by mob rule. The military junta of Burma has erased all hopes for transparency in every aspect of the 2010 election. Rules of law are penciled in as deemed necessary to give the world the façade of legality when Than Shwe wants to imprison someone or find cause to execute them. The latest act of extortion is to force groups and organizations to vote on the 2010 election or cease to exist. Regardless of the fact the election is totally unconstitutional you must vote and vote for the junta. Extortion was used for the Constitutional Referendum and many people starved to death in the wake of Cyclone Nargis because of they voted no. Other people were simply beaten to death or arrested and placed in prisons.

Now the National League for Democracy is being extorted into voting on an election that is clearly bogus and a sham. Their candidates had already won a landslide victory in 1990 only to have the victors arrested and placed in irons. The president elect, Aung San Suu Kyi spent several decades in bondage for winning the election against the criminal junta. Countless people have been incarcerated and died in prisons for simply voting for Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the NLD over the years.

Currently people are being secretly arrested and placed in jungle prisons without the need for a trial. Many are being tortured to death while others are denied medical attention and left to die a slow and agonizing death. Higher profile people have their day in kangaroo courts only to discover they will spend the rest of their lives in Then Shwe’s Gulag. Their attorneys face prison for representing them. There is no question they will suffer weekly torture sessions or die from contaminated food riddled with Tuberculosis or other terminal diseases. It is known that the criminal regime uses biological means to eliminate ethnic and political issues in Burma. Prisoners are Than Shwe’s guinea pigs for his vial concoctions of viruses and diseases. They are expendable since they voted against him in either the 1990 election or the Constitutional Referendum.

With prisons emptied recently it is obvious Than Shwe is making room for more people who might vote against him and his band of criminals. I guess there is transparency in the impending election after all since it is plain to see that it is business as usual. The military junta is forcing people to vote and participate in the election or they will be arrested and their organizations disbanded. How transparent can it me? If you don’t vote for the military junta you will be arrested. If your organization does not participate in the election it will be disbanded and the members arrested. If you do not do as the military junta orders, you will be arrested. If you even think about democracy or human rights you will be arrested.

Now the junta is hinting that satellite TV should be censored because of the immoral content on the screen. With absolutely every phone call monitored both within and international as well as a controlled press, radio and Internet it is transparent there are no civil liberties. Guess the rape of children by military forces as well as the use of child soldiers is moral. The wholesale murder of innocent people and false imprisonment is wholesome and acceptable. Purposely using cash and supplies meant for Cyclone Nargis victims to finish construction of temples and cyber cities is moral. The black market is flourishing with all the material aid going to Burma now. Than Shwe’s generals have lined their pockets with cash meant for survivors, well except for the survivors who voted yes on the Referendum.

Ironically his soldiers must resort to robbing the public to subsist since there is no reward for their heinous crimes against humanity. When a soldier is injured they are thrown away, discarded like trash and left to fend for themselves. It’s every man for himself as the military leadership turns their head as soldiers murder and rape their way to retirement. Burmanization consists of soldiers burning down a village and moving in their families and using the former residents as slaves then executing them after they are done. Yes it’s a good thing Than Shwe wants to clean up the immoral satellite TV since his criminal regime is such a bastion of morality and clean living. Transparent is his acts of genocide and crimes against humanity and his blatant act of extortion only exemplify the true nature of his regime.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Sanctions to Continue in Burma Says EU

2009-05-11T17:39:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Favoring Humanity over Economics the *European Union announced they will continue sanctions imposed in the military junta of Burma. To the chagrin of Generalissimo Than Shwe and his criminal regime there will be no reward for the arrest and wholesale murder of innocent people. In a statement the EU said;

"The (EU) Council deems it necessary to extend the current EU Common position for another year, including the restrictive measures,"

The EU also rendered the option to increase or relax restrictive measures dependant on actions taken by the regime to rectify its posture on human rights. Restrictions target 1,207 firms, frozen assets and forbids the issuance of visas to Than Shwe and his band of thugs.

Clearly Than Shwe’s bribing of United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari and lining the pockets of other diplomatic sources was a dismal failure. Granted the race to lift sanctions did identify individuals from many nations who were promoting Than Shwe’s cause and urging the world to recognize Burma as a legitimate nation. In spite of continual human rights violations and false imprisonment of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her cabinet these boneheads promoted this criminal regime. Their names should be written in the book of infamy fore they sold their honor and have disgraced their nations.

It is incomprehensible that anyone with an ounce of moral fiber would speak in Than Shwe’s defense or even consider his blood soaked regime legitimate. Truly the cause of humanity far overshadows the concerns of commerce and economics. To think otherwise is to be in concert with evil personified fore morality has no place in an environment filled with greed.

It should be remembered that Ulla Toreas of Denmark and Erik Solheim resorted to extortion of pro democracy groups to force them to vote in the illegal 2010 election. That in itself was criminal and should have had consequences fore blackmail was still a crime in the nations they represented. There were others but this gruesome twosome stands out in the herd. There were champions such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Norway’s Minister of Finance Kristin Halvorsen who held fast their stance on humanity.

Western nations have already determined that the Constitutional Referendum of last year was a total fraud and a sham. Hopefully they recognize the pending bogus 2010 election is equally a sham since the voice of the people was quashed in 1990 when the opposition won a landslide victory over Than Shwe and his criminal regime. As the world speaks of reconciliation, including China, this can only be made possible if the duly elected officials are included in the dialogue. All the conferences and discussions pertaining to Burma are invalid at best without Aung San Suu Kyi and her cabinet present at these meetings.

Than Shwe’s continual arrest and imprisonment of all opposition as well as his exercise in genocide makes his roadmap to democracy more like a highway to hell. It should be as plain as the nose on a person’s face that Than Shwe is a common criminal and should be treated accordingly. Knowing he is dying of cancer is a small consolation since he will undoubtedly cheat justice for his vial and reprehensible conduct over the years.

The European Union made a stand for the cause of humanity and they are undeterred but ready and willing to make amends if humanity returns to Burma. But it is Than Shwe who must foster positive change in a nation he all but destroyed.

* http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-39279420090427

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair

Karen National Union Statement on 2010 Elections

2009-05-11T17:38:00.000+06:30

Karen National Union Statement on 2010 Elections

April 26th, 2009

1. Defying the requests of the United Nations and democratic forces in Burma, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) is pushing ahead with elections in 2010.

2. Internal repression is at an all time high.

· Burmese Army attacks against ethnic civilians continue.

· There are more political prisoners than at any time for 20 years.

· All media is censored.

· There is no right of freedom of assembly.

· There is no right of freedom of speech.

· Political parties cannot be formed without permission from the SPDC.

· Existing political parties supporting human rights and democracy are severely restricted, and members who are not in jail face regular harassment.

· Other political parties, especially ethnic political parties, such as the Karen National Union, are banned.

· Daw Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest.

· There is no election law.

In these circumstances, it is impossible for elections to be free and fair.

3. Even if free and fair elections could be held, the elections would not bring about any change in Burma. This is because the constitution enshrines military rule into the law governing Burma.

4. The principles of the constitution were written by delegates that were not representative of the people of Burma, and were instead hand-picked by the SPDC. During the process, the SPDC drafted every word, and rejected every proposal for change.

5. The constitution was approved by a rigged referendum. Aside from any “vote no” campaign being banned, abuses included denying aid to our Karen people in the Delta after cyclone Nargis, unless they agreed to vote “yes”, forcing people to sign the forms without voting, and forcing people to vote “yes” against their will.

6. The constitution would go against all democratic norms, including:

· The Head of State must be from the military

· The Army is not answerable to the government or Parliament.

· The Army has veto power over all laws passed by the Parliament.

· No basic rights are guaranteed by the constitution.

· All existing repressive laws will remain in place. There will be no freedom of speech, no freedom of assembly, no free media, and no open democratic debate. No prisoners will be released.

7. The constitution grants no ethnic rights, no autonomy, and provides no protection or promotion of Burma’s many cultures, including Karen culture.

8. It is incorrect to state this could be a step on a path to reform. No change of the constitution can be made without 75 percent approval of parliament. As the SPDC will have a minimum of 25 percent of seats in Parliament, they can block any reform. Even if Parliament did vote for change, the army can veto the change on grounds of national security.

9. There will be no democratic space opened up by having a Parliament. The military parties and their allies will dominate the Parliament, and the military parties will decide the agenda of the Parliament. Media remains censored so there will not be any open political debate in media. Those naive enough to argue that there will be political space in the Parliament should look at the National Convention, which will no doubt be used as model by the SPDC. At the National Convention no free debate or discussion was allowed. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma described the delegates as being under virtual house arrest. Delegates were even told what to eat, and when to take a bath.

10. Regardless of the Parliament, the civil service and economy of Burma has been militarised. Military personnel, their families, or their allies, control the ministries and all key sectors of the economy. They are responsible for the day to day running of the country, and there will be no change in this sphere.

11. Attacks against ethnic people will continue. There is no reason to think that the current military attacks against ethnic people in Eastern Burma, which the United Nations has described as breaking the Geneva Conventions, will end.

12. It is clear that the elections and constitution will not bring about peace, democracy, human rights and stability to Burma. Rather, oppression will continue.

13. In fact, by not addressing demands for freedom, democracy, or granting any ethnic rights, resistance will continue, destabilising the country as long as dictatorship, in whatever guise, exists. Further, the failure to grant any ethnic rights, and pressure on some ethnic ceasefire organisations to disarm, could lead to division within them, and some may split or return to armed struggle.

14. Only true democracy, basic human rights, including equality for ethnic people, will bring peace and stability to Burma. We therefore call on the international community to work for these goals, rather than accept the fraud being perpetrated by the SPDC.

15. We are disappointed that Gambari appears to have endorsed the SPDC’s 2010 elections and constitution, even offering UN assistance with the organisation and monitoring of the elections. He is advocating a path promoted by the regime, rather than acting as an impartial facilitator for tri-partite dialogue, which is his mandate.

16. We call on SPDC to follow the demands of the United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Security Council, European Union, USA, and others and engage in genuine tripartite dialogue leading to genuine change in our country.

17. We call on governments around the world not to endorse the 2010 elections and instead redouble efforts to persuade the SPDC to enter into genuine tri-partite dialogue.

18. The Karen National Union is a democratic organisation, committed to human rights and democracy in Burma. We are working for a peaceful, stable, federal Burma. We stand ready to enter into genuine tripartite dialogue, as facilitated by the United Nations, at any time.

The Executive Committee

Karen National Union

Burma’s Secrets Reveled

2009-04-27T18:56:00.004+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

It was only a matter of time before the pleas of the Karen people were heard around the world and now the *US Congress is getting an ear full. Former Karen Internally Displaced Person (IDP) Myra Dahgaypaw told a compelling story of how her and her family survived genocide, disease and starvation. In horrific detail she exposed the dark secrets of Burma’s military junta and their rain of terror on innocent farmers under the watchful eye of dictator General Than Shwe.

The emotionally charged oratory given by Myra told of how she and her family lived on nothing but bamboo shoots, survived malaria and other diseases. With nothing but the cloths on their backs they faced the elements with nothing more than a tarp as they watched others die from starvation, the elements and injuries sustained from government forces. The heart wrenching testimony exposed the absolute cruelty and total disregard for human life the criminal regime had for the ethnic populations of Burma. Gen. Than Shwe’s ruthless pursuit and murder of the Karen people was only the tip of the ice berg. Myra told congress her case was not an isolated one and that many other people of Burma faced certain death from government forces.

Crimes against humanity was a polite description for the sadistic and barbaric conduct perpetrated by the regime. This behavior has become standard operating procedures under the stewardship of Gen.Than Shwe. The rape, torture and butchery of human beings has reached epidemic proportions. Porters were drafted as slaves or faced death by a number of ghoulish ways to make an example for others who dared to disobey. Women were summarily raped by large groups of soldiers and in many cases they were raped to death. Others were dissected as they lay dying. One accounting last year told of how a little girl had her face carved off and her body riddled with bayonet holes while she still was breathing and pleading for her life. A soldier’s bullet stopped her horrific suffering. One seven year old girl was kidnapped, raped then sacrificed by Burmese soldiers in a story I covered last year and all with the blessings of Gen. Than Shwe. Burmanization has become the catch all phrase for eugenics, the contemporary holocaust and the signature of this criminal regime.

For anyone or any corporation to condone this kind of conduct shows the lack of morality. Regardless of what national leaders from around the world do, we the population of the globe can make a difference. Seek out the names of these vial corporate leaders, the companies they represent and boycott their goods in every store they are sold in. Since economics seems to out weigh humanity, fight fire with fire and strike them in the pocket book. Then and only then will they pull out of Burma or loose their material empires. Public opinion and the shopper’s dollar is the common mans “weapon of mass destruction”. If we don’t buy, they will die. They need our dollar or they will not survive. Only if we stop buying their blood soaked goods will any sanction succeed.

When the Human Rights Tribunals begin not only Gen. Than Shwe and his criminal regime should stand trial but corporate heads from Daiwoo, Toyota and Tata Motors, just to name a few. Their products should be striped from the shelves, their companies cast in shame. The list keeps getting longer as corporations take full advantage of plentiful slaves and natural resources. They are partners in Burma’s holocaust and their goods are covered in blood and human suffering. They are financing murder and it is time to revel the names of all the people involved. Let the world know who these people are and it will surprise you that some of them live in your community. It is time for them to face their shameful disregard for human life, all for the corporate bottom line. Let them hang in the gallows of public opinion for money is not everything.

With millions of witnesses to Gen. Than Shwe’s holocaust his conviction as well as the conviction of his generals will mark the end of an era filled with death and selective genocide. Like rats abandoning a sinking ship corporate heads and constituents will break the silence and tell the true nature of the beast called Gen. Than Shwe. They will betray him and his generals to escape the gallows or face life in prison. Appropriately they should spend the rest of their lives in the jungle prisons Gen. Than Shwe sent the political prisoners. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Hopefully Gen. Than Shwe will stand trial before cancer takes him. That would be too easy.

* http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=15526

Your Devil’s Advocate

Arrests Continue in Burma

2009-04-27T18:56:00.001+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Than Shwe has decided to restrict the types of prayers a person can make in his latest act of tyranny. He arrested *National League for Democracy members for praying for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi to assert his authority in religion. The road map to Burma’s new future already has pot holes and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt it will dead end in more repression.

There is no future and his road map looks more like a guided tour of hell since he has decided to act like a G*D and dictate what people can pray for. Clearly democracy will not have a place within his vision of future Burma and arresting people for the content of their prayers is shear madness. As cancer spreads throughout his body it may very well be exacting a toll on his brain since this insanity at its best.

Rape and murder continues to be the rule as reports of more atrocities manage to make their way to the outside world. Than Shwe’s henchmen in the State Peace and Development Counsel raped a **13 year old girl in the Papun District and continue their rain of murder on Karen villagers. It is business as usual for the criminal regime who continues to commit crimes against humanity with impunity.

Other arrests continue in secret as people disappear from the streets and placed in distant jungle prisons. Eventually the Burmese government will have arrested all the opposition to the pending 2010 election. It is believed that the people who disappear without public knowledge are simple being killed to put an end to the opposition of his illegal elections. The brutality of his criminal regime has no boundaries and has escalated with a vengeance in an effort to thwart efforts the opposition to him and his band of criminals.

Pro junta businessmen who’ve benefited from the corrupt military junta have become spies against the people of Burma. They have also used their new status to intimidate and threaten citizens. They identify people as pro democracy advocate causing innocent people to be arrested and persecuted to satisfy vendettas. There is no question they will use their positions to eliminate competition as they lie about businessmen as well. These businessmen will undoubtedly be added to the list of criminals who will stand trial for crimes against humanity as well. Than Shwe’s legacy will convict his minions long after he dies from the cancer that is consuming his body. Destiny awaits and justice will be served.

* http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15518

** http://www.khrg.org/khrg2009/khrg09f8.html

Your Devil’s Advocate

Burma’s Eye Witnesses, Part 5

2009-04-27T18:53:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

I was on the roster and had a prepared speech but when I got up to the podium I found myself at a loss for words. That was unusual for me since I rarely am without something to say. But as I panned the audience I could not help but feel a rush of emotion as I viewed all these beautiful people in their traditional finery. Knowing their journeys and the hardships they endured both in Burma and the refugee camps I found it hard to find the words. Before me were the innocent survivors of genocide and unspeakable crimes against humanity. But here they were in this beautiful Buddhist Temple about to celebrate Thingyan no longer fearful for their lives. These were the people of Burma I’ve dedicated myself to fight for their democracy.

With formalities out of the way Thingyan began without a hitch. Slowly the group began to loosen up as the music began to play. The Pone Gyi and several nuns made an appearance as well and everyone began to enjoy the festivities of the day. Eventually everyone, including the shy ones, were singing, eating and dancing. Water began to flow as the tradition of cleansing took center stage. One ingenious kid grabbed the hose and made sure everyone in the hall got a good drenching. But the tiny kids stole the show for me.

Later I was informed many people at the gathering suffered from depression since they arrived in the US. They grappled with isolation and fear in this strange new land. Some were here for several years while others only a few months. But now they were outside of their apartment complexes enjoying this Gala event for the first time since they left Burma. When we found Ashin Thila Nanda a monastery we also found sanctuary for the refugees as well. Call it a sense of belonging or a sense of community but whatever it was it brought smiles back to their faces and now they have a place they could call home. Next weekend will commemorate Buddha’s birthday and they will all be at their new found temple. Thingyan has brought forth a very promising New Year and Ashin Thila Nanda will the people he loves.

It was a great honor to celebrate this New Year with the survivors from Burma. It was a priceless moment to watch as joy returned to their once sorrow filled hearts. Now they look to the future with hope and dignity since now they are centered. There are no words to describe my gratitude to the head monk and his staff. Opening his monastery to my friends truly changed lives in a good way.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Burma’s Eye Witnesses, Part 4

2009-04-23T04:28:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

From the jungles of South Asia to the bustling cities of America has been quite a transition for the Karen refugees I’ve met over the years. Coming to the United States from Burma for some folks was like taking a trip to the moon. Just about everything about life in America was new and strange for tribal people. Culture shock was an understatement to say the least. Though there are many serious aspects to assimilation into America, there are a few anecdotes as well.

Living in a major metropolitan area has its disadvantages when it comes to survival for people who’ve spent their entire lives living off the land. Not much land for crops when one lives in an apartment complex. Hunting is unheard of since most of the wild life drive fancy cars and listen to Ipods. But leave it to my Karen friends to discover bounty even in the city.

One day a couple Karen men were finishing up a delicious meal with roast goose. Knowing goose was an expensive commodity as friend asked these men how they could afford such a luxurious meal.

“We went hunting” said one man.

Then he pointed to the central park.

“Many birds there and they are not as smart as the birds back in Burma” said the other.

My friend queried further;

“I hope no one saw the two of you killing the birds”

The elder gentleman continued;

“We hunt at night so we can select the fattest birds”

Then the younger Karen man told my friend that it was safer to check the squirrel traps at night so people would not see where they hid them.

“The squirrels are nice and fat and there are plenty in that little jungle” he said. “And they are just as stupid as the birds. It is only the fish that are smart”

Shocked, my friend asked how these men caught the fish. The elder man said;

“We used a net and gathered many nice fish; want some fish to take back with you?”

Well, I saw the fish my Burmese friend brought back from the Karen hunters. They were very nice and plump rainbow trout, corn fed and better than pan size. Out of curiosity I asked my friend why he took the fish and he said;

“I asked the Karen fishermen the same question as you did. They said the fish was much fresher than the fish in stores covered in ice. And it made sense to me and since I am Burmese I like fresh fish as well”

It just goes to show, you can take the Karen out of the jungle but you can’t take the jungle out of the Karen. I might add the fish was quite good and I like fresh fish too. Course I don’t think I’ll be net fishing at Echo Park in Downtown Los Angeles any time soon but it is a possibility. I’ll bet there are some whoppers in that ole lake, come to think if it.

After living in Alaska I also developed a taste for walrus, whale and seal. And since I already have a taste for woodland creatures I can just imagine how it would be if these Karen hunters and I took a stroll through a park zoo. It would be more like walking through a buffet. Toss in some garlic, onion and some shrimp past then it would be a meal fit for a king.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Burma’s Eye Witnesses, Part 3

2009-04-23T04:27:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

The day of the Thingyan Celebration was as chaotic as any other function I ever attended. We traveled between several refugee enclaves gathering and distributing musical instruments, additional supplies and shuffling people back and forth. My friend Ashin Thila Nanda was busy on his cell phone organizing and coordinating the day’s events. Then I ran into a former school teacher who lived on the border. Obviously she was assimilating well in American fore I almost did not recognize her. Then I began to remember the stories she told me of life in the refugee camp.

She then asked me if I told the stories to the world. I told her that I wrote about it last year. She reminded me how important it was for the world to know about the horrors of life on the border. Since I spoke with others from the border region I thought I’d reiterate some of the highlights of her journey into darkness for its most compelling.

Her and her husband fled for their lives in advance of death squads seeking out Karen villagers. Once in the refugee center they thought they had left the brutality of Burma. But alas they faced new challenges and witnessed even more ghoulish and horrific acts of brutality, some from the junta and some from ruthless businessmen and human traffickers.

The junta made it a habit to sneak into Thailand and kidnap little girls, savagely rape them to death then butcher the bodies. As a gift the Burmese soldiers would plant land mines inside of Thailand’s borders surrounding the refugee villages. The soldiers would work with corrupt officials at these refugee centers and purchase donated rice and food stuffs then resell them whence they returned to Burma. But one story has haunted me for months and it was a story about stolen babies.

In Thailand there are many delicacies and specialty shops that cater to tourists that enjoy exotic foods. The more exotic the food the higher price the food would fetch to discerning western diners looking for foods out of the ordinary. In this case the food in question was leeches. The fatter the leech the better the flavor and this required feeding them blood rich in fat content and nutrients. And what better source of nutrient rich blood could these restaurateurs ask for other than human infants.

With refugee camps filled to capacity surely no one would loose to much sleep if a few babies were stolen. As long as the child was plump and healthy they brought a good price. They were easier to transport than young girls for the sex trade in Bangkok’s red light district. Though this may seem like a heinous crime at first light, what the chefs did crosses all boundaries of morality and sanity.

Likened to a burlap sack full of healthy babies traders would make their rounds. They would go to specialty shops and kitchens in Thailand filling orders for their eager clients. Then the cook or leech farmer would take possession of the infant and tenderly feed the child rich creamy milk or hire a lactating mother to fatten the child up. When the child was very fat they would lower the child into a vat. Some would tie the child to a rack in order to expose more skin while others would simply tie a collar around the kid’s neck and lower them into this vat.

In the vat was a water solution teaming with hundreds maybe thousands of starving leeches. Ravenous for fat rich baby blood they would swarm the defenseless infant and suck as much blood out of the body as possible. If the baby was kept in the vat to long the child would be literally sucked dry and die. Sometimes the child would die from shock, disease or the leeches themselves. The more fortunate ones would go back into the fattening cycle for a few more times. Eventually the child would die from what is called a failure to thrive. The useless life form would be discarded in the dense jungle and a new fat baby would be ordered.

In any event the leeches grew fat and juicy with a taste that was indescribable. Leech merchants would glean quite a handsome profit and cooks would be the toast of the town with their fine exotic cuisine. But in a refugee camp far removed from the glitz of Thailand’s fine eateries would be a mother filled with sorrow and grief for her lost child. Though her loss would appear insurmountable, in some convoluted way it would be kinder she only suffered the loss of a child. Knowing her infant was not only kidnapped but being used as leech food would only add to her pain.

The sex trade holds equally heinous crimes against children. Kids of all sexes and ages are kidnapped from refugee centers and used for all manners of sexual exploitation. Perversions beyond imagination are performed to cash customers demanding the exotic in sexual pleasures. If a kidnapped child dies during a sadomasochistic encounter with an adult the patron is charged a fee for the loss. Then the child is discarded in the jungle as well.

Life in the refugee centers has its risks and death is only moments away. One woman said she was happy to be in America even with its complexities. She also said she could finally sleep after 10 years of living on the Thai/Burma border. There was no escaping death if you let your guard down for even a moment. Random gun fire and land mines almost seemed humane in light of the actions of ruthless human traffickers. Yet the people continue to survive and hope for a new tomorrow.

I prepared for the Thingyan Celebration ate traditional foods and chatted with the people. Fresh in my mind were the stories they told of survival. They sang their songs and told stories about their homeland and they still could smile in spite of the epic journey they endured. Their strength was enviable but their inner beauty breath taking.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Burma’s Eye Witnesses, Part 2

2009-04-23T04:26:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

As I traveled within the refugee communities in preparation for the Thingyan Celebration I encountered another group of Karen refugees. We met up at an Asian market as they bought a variety of exotic vegetables, noodles and other sundry delights. As usual the group greeted me with warm smiles. One gentleman walked with me outside as I waited for everyone to finish shopping since we came to give them a ride. We shared a smoke and I discovered he was a “porter” back in Burma. I’ve read reports, viewed photos and video smuggled out of the country but I never interviewed a porter.

For those of you who don’t know, a porter is a slave used as a form as husbandry by the Burmese military to carry goods, munitions and other supplies. Porters are summarily taken from their villages, out of the fields they are working on or snatched from the street as they walk home. They are forced to carry massive loads of supplies that can weigh several hundred pounds. These slightly built people would carry two times their body weight for endless miles. In comparison I watch big burly men whine about one sack of dog food. Imagine having to carry four or six of them for 50 miles and not to a waiting parked car.

If they drop the goods they are carrying they are savagely beaten or killed on the spot and another unsuspecting person is drafted into the ranks of slave labor. On more than one occasion people who refused had a gun barrel stuffed into their mouths and their brains blown out in clear view of the others. The bullet would decimate the skull and strike another innocent bystander sometimes killing them as well. Soldiers would order someone to pick up the dropped load covered in brain, bone and blood while the body of the victim was still in convulsions. If a person hesitated in any way they could face the same fate.

Porters would witness ghoulish acts of barbarism as people were beaten to death with rifle butts while soldiers laughed. Without emotion I heard of eyes falling out of the skulls as well as brains while soldiers disfigured their living quarry. Some soldiers would take great joy in dismembering a slave slowly in a festival of death and blood curdling screams. Fearful of their mortality, porters would mask their horror and stand with no emotions as the soldiers made threats in a sadomasochistic game of “who wants to be next?” Sadly the Karen cried inside fore that was their friend, relation and countryman. But to the military junta the Karen were nothing more than disposable animals to be used and abused at their leisure.

When we returned to the domicile of this group of Karen’s I watched as the community prepared food for the festival and tended to their children. They still lived in a traditional way in spite of their modern 21st Century surroundings. Their chubby cheek babies played and sang as we listened to Karen songs. We all joked and laughed as they did their magic with sacks of onions, garlic and vegetables. Though their homes were not decorated in what we consider modern fashion sense, their homes were warm and filled with love. The aroma from their kitchens titillated my senses with anticipation of the culinary adventure I was about to experience.

As a special guest I was given a bowl of tea leaf salad and it was a flavor explosion. They said this salad would prolong my life and I guess I will live a long time since I was addicted to this wondrous treat. There was no lacking in communication in spite of my dismally poor grasp of the Karen dialect. They were intuitive as well as warm. I could not find any justification to place these beautiful people in a category less than human like the Burmese soldiers. Fact is, this so-called modern society could learn a few lessons in life from these humble people. Though I was a special guest it was me who was honored to be in their midst and it was me who was humbled by their presents. And now I’m addicted to tea leaf salad, it was totally awesome.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Burma’s Eye Witnesses, Part 1

2009-04-23T04:24:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

After spending time with refugees, political exiles and religious leaders I’ve managed to come up with a few stories that shed more light on the current state of affairs that get ignored or washed under the bridge. Fresh from refugee camps along the Thai/Burma border the Karen brought epic tales of survival that staggered the imagination. Others who’ve traveled to Burma recently have not seen change in regions that were destroyed by Cyclone Nargis. I saw many recent photos and listened intently as I was described in detail the total devastation that exists today.

The Center for Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Thailand Based Emergency Assistance Team are woefully inept or simply lied about the progress in humanitarian aid and human rights in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. Granted, this caused uproar from other humanitarian aid organizations who struggle to bring a semblance of sanity to the regions within Burma that were hardest hit. After interviewing survivors and Humanitarians who’ve recently returned from Burma I have a few choice words for those morons as well;

“How far beyond stupid are you, or is the junta lining your pockets as well??”

Last week I was invited to the Thingyan Celebration by my friend Ashin Thila Nanda. Along with the preparation for this event I chatted with many refugees. On one occasion I was told of how the devastated region was haunted by the dead. In an eerie tale areas still denuded of life echoed the sounds of cows in the fields and children playing in the grass. When daylight returned the sounds of life would disappear and as the morning sun spread across the land it would expose a barren wasteland. When the dark of night fell, the sounds of life returned.

It was common knowledge the junta deliberately excluded people and townships from humanitarian aid who voted NO on the Constitutional Referendum last year. They were left to fend for themselves and dine on bloated carrion then drink from putrefied streams filled with decaying human remains. It should also be noted the military junta arrested people who bothered to clean these streams and offer a burial for the deceased. Trees that still stood were decorated with the lifeless forms of men, women and children. Now only their bones remain and still dot the countryside. Is this a photo-op for Than Shwe so he can pander the dead for more humanitarian aid? I believe so since he’s done the photo-op scam before for the press and UN Observers to prove aid was reaching the people. The villagers know the reality of Than Shwe’s bold faced lies. Than Shwe prostituted the dead and built a golden Pagoda with his ill gotten gains.

More Nargis aid was sold on the black market then was distributed to the suffering of Burma, there is no question. Both Than Shwe and his general’s coffers are filled with aid money. The black market is flourishing with donated commodities meant for the stricken. Rape, slavery and ghoulish death awaits anyone who makes mention of his crimes against humanity. His kangaroo courts are arresting everyone who poses a threat to his elaborate money laundering scheme and the criminal junta.

Only problem is, there are millions of witnesses to the atrocities of Burma’s military junta. For the most part they are not trusting of westerners since many westerners are gleaning a profit from the junta. Another aspect of some westerners is the fact they run their mouth and spill the beans whence a Burmese person tells them something. There are prisoners who’ve been accidentally snitched off by loose lips in motel rooms. People do not realize that tourists and journalists from the free world are monitored, even when they go to the restroom. One tiny misspoken world from a westerner will send a person to Insein Prison or even killed. For a person to think for one moment all is well in Burma is naïveté in motion. Burma has become a paranoid society where every aspect of their lives is being monitored by a ruthless dictator. Only now that many witnesses are in American is the truth being told and I’m all ears.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15474

Your Devil’s Advocate

Burma’s Roadmap to Nowhere

2009-04-12T20:30:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Here we go again; more talks and feel good plans that only buy more time for Than Shwe. In all reality there is no dialogue that is valid until Aung San Suu Kyi and her cabinet are included in these meetings. Inviting every nation in the world is meaningless unless the duly elected officials of Burma are there to discuss the real issues. Without the NLD leadership at the table all the talk in the world is just a lot of hot air.

For any nation to condone or except the notion the 2010 election has any validity at all is purely ludicrous. The people have spoken and no matter how many people Than Shwe and his criminal regime toss into prisons, tortures and murders, the election results will remain the same. And for any nation to consider anything less makes them a partner in Burma’s holocaust and wholesale human rights violations. It is sad enough to realize international corporations that fill store shelves in the United States of America and the free world are partners with Than Shwe.

With South Asia poised for war on many fronts it is only a matter of time before the landscape of many nations explodes into bloodshed. Unrest breeds unrest and the unchecked crimes against humanity perpetrated by Than Shwe has become a cancer to all of Asia and democracy as a whole. Even China is primed for revolution since they wandered away from the core tenets of communism in favor of fascist corporatism. Thailand has already exchanged gun fire on several borders and like the domino effect Asia will soon be engulfed in many secular wars.

Ibrahim Gambari proved beyond a shadow of a doubt the United Nations is as impotent as they are corrupt. Their inability to do anything other than deliver cereal, milk and imposed worthless sanctions makes them a non entity. It would appear the UN is nothing more than a worthless plutocracy that only buys time for the perpetrators of crimes against humanity.

88 Generations Students Group spokesperson Tun Myint Aung was quoted in an open letter to the junta by *The Irrawaddy;

“The Western democracies have placed economic and social sanctions on Burma to protest against human rights violations by the Burmese junta, so the junta should show its respect for human rights and for the Burmese people”

They also endorsed the four basic requests that would foster true reconciliation.

Release Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners

The convening of parliament

Establish true political dialogue

Review the 2008 Constitution

The world should take notice that the people of Burma are still very active in their struggle for democracy. Regardless of what the junta’s propaganda machine may publish, the people of Burma still yearn for freedom and democracy.

On another note, I’ve seen the demise of Than Shwe in several dreams for what its worth. I’ve seen the two options he had to choose from. One would give his family peace whence he departed this Earth. The other choice had a much darker consequence. Now the traditional **Thingyansar predicts major change and an end to feudalism among other things as we enter the Burmese New Year. Than Shwe moved the nation’s capital into the jungle on the advice of his soothsayer. I believe it was sound advice but his soothsayer should have told him this maneuver only bought a little time. Like the ole saying goes, “you can run but you can’t hide”. Building a Pagoda was another interesting piece of Burmese tradition that bore ominous fruit for the regime. In short this tradition marks the collapse of a kingdom whence a ruler builds a Pagoda. Than Shwe’s Peace Pagoda should suffice don’t you think? It was consecrated in blood when 20 people got killed on the Ferris wheel at opening day. Is this another omen or just bad luck? Only time will tell.

The tangible aspects of his government also points to major changes within the regime regardless of his attempts to keep his generals at odds with one another. The moment he blinks an eye the war for his throne will begin. Than Shwe’s reality is death and it will be this year according to the signs. At some point his soothsayers should inform him of his options or are they waiting for his end like everyone else?

There is no question outsiders from the industrial world who’ve sided with Than Shwe will feel the wrath of the people they subjugated over the years. I’ve seen the list of name, many westerners as well as Asians. Quietly the people of Burma have been taking notes and these corporate thugs are known in many circles around the world. Some will stand trial for their participation in Than Shwe’s holocaust. Others will try to hide or face the scorn of the world. Their days are numbered as well. With millions of witnesses to the atrocities that were committed over the years, convictions will not be hard to come by. The Khmer Rouge once thought they were invincible but they were betrayed by the magic they though would protect them forever. Now they stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity. Than Shwe may die but his generals will face a jury for his sins, that is a given.

Dare I mention the series of natural disasters that will plague Asia and the world? I also see disaster after disaster that will cripple the empires of greed that has engulfed the globe as well. In any event, Than Shwe’s road map will soon have obstacles from both the tangible and intangible worlds he betrayed. They will be insurmountable and will fall within the context of the dogma he perverted and blasphemed. Though I’m not a Buddhist I do enjoy reading their books and can appreciate their doctrine. I just can’t seem to find the part where it’s condoned and accepted to rape, imprison and ghoulishly torture people to death. It seems as though Than Shwe was more a conscript of Kali fore he is a Thug of the highest order. His reign of terror and bloodshed will not go unrewarded and death will not shroud him from his destiny.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Burma’s Dark Future, A Poor Investment

2009-04-07T02:31:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

With mounting instability on all levels of Than Shwe’s government businessmen may be having second thoughts about Burma’s future. In a meeting of the *Union of the Myanmar Federation and Chamber of Commerce & Industry Burma’s Prime Minister Thein Sein urged businessmen to unite with government forces. This was an effort to recruit more manpower in an effort to quell any and all opposition to the pending 2010 election. Clearly their duties would consist of more than just business related matters.

Along with all the seemingly innocent rhetoric about unity and the sham road map to a new Burma his message also possessed ominous overtones.

Thein Sein was quoted as saying;

"We need future plans to... overcome all political disturbances to the nation as well as challenges especially in this global economic crisis”

Business group chairman and government sympathizer Win Myint was more than happy to volunteer both him and the organization. Not all businessmen were involved in dubious business practices but all were compliant to Thein Sein’s wishes. To show any obvious concern or question Thein Sein’s intentions would be a death sentence to anyone who spoke out. But it is already known many businessmen would rather have an open market place free of government extortion and intimidation. Therefore Thein Sein’s bold attempt to gather spies and agents for the junta will cause a division within the business community. But let it be known that spies are on all levels of existence in Burma these days. Than Shwe is desperate to arrest all opposition before the election and he is saturating the population at this time.

Businessmen know the 2010 elections is a sham just like the Constitutional Referendum was. Many merchants have grown weary of being constantly on guard for the choice of words they use or the music they play. Constant shake downs by government thugs and wanton theft by soldiers has cut deeply into profits for many years. Justice meted out of a gun barrel has become the norm if a merchant complained too much. Commerce has been replaced with complacency as fear and paranoia became the rule not the exception..

Foreign investors and businessmen never were privy to the real Burma. Than Shwe insulated them under the guise of safety but in reality it was surveillance. Some time in the future they will be considered enemies to both warring factions within the government as the internal struggles gain momentum. Their participation with Than Shwe will be remembered by the civilian population. They will be hard pressed to find sanctuary since many civilians will turn their backs on them. Etched in pain the Burmese people will remember their past transgressions. There is no sympathy for those who’ve profiteered at the expense of others. Behind the smiling faces lies a cauldron of hatred for the colonialists who’ve financed Than Shwe’s tyranny. In all probability they will face a similar fate as the corrupt officials of Burma fore justice will be swift whence civil unrest explodes. Than Shwe and Thein Sein’s paranoia has only fueled the fire of revolt and now it’s only a matter of time.

*http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/139226/myanmar-pm-asks-businessmen-for-unity-ahead-of-elections

Your Devil’s Advocate

Tata Motors to Build Trucks in Burma

2009-04-07T02:29:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

The company who built the world’s cheapest car, the Nano or the People’s Car, will soon be manufacturing heavy military vehicles for Burma’s killing machine. Following the axiom of economics over humanity *Tata Motor Company entered into an agreement to build a manufacturing facility in Burma by December 2009. Sadly this turn of events will have direct consequences in sales of the Nano to the free world as news of this reprehensible partnership spreads.

Sanctions imposed on the criminal regime of Burma will surely hamper sales. Norway already dumped China’s Dongfeng Motor Group for its sales of 900 trucks to Burma’s military. Other auto manufacturers will soon feel the heat as nations take a stand for humanity over profits. In the sights are other auto manufacturers such as Toyota, Mitsubishi and Suzuki just to name a few. As the world economies falter, these companies will feel the brunt of the financial collapse. This immoral alliance is destined to failure for a host of reasons. It will sever them right as well as the other corporations who’ve chosen to finance Than Shwe and his murderous regime.

The fact Tata will be building heavy trucks for the cursed Than Shwe will mark the beginning of the end for them since Than Shwe’s military dictatorship is on the verge of a coop. Resentment and betrayal are rampant within his inner circle of hand picked generals. Than Shwe’s impending death has them hovering around him like vultures. Than’s paranoia has him positioning his closest allies around him for protection from other generals who might pose a threat to his life. The fact soldiers are ill paid and left to fend for themselves whence they are injured while generals languish in the lap of luxury is a dire indicator as well.

Unwitting investors will soon find themselves in a crossfire as this volatile situation explodes into an internal struggle for power and control. Than Shwe’s paranoid fears are truly misdirected fore his fate is not in the hands of the opposition. His destiny lies in the hands of those he betrayed within his own inner circle. For those who invest in his criminal regime there is no security. As soon as pandemonium breaks out within Burma they will be the first casualty. When Than Shwe dies or is murdered blood will soon cover the ground at Naypyidaw. And there is no doubt some of the blood will be from the greedy investors.

*http://www.domain-b.com/companies/companies_t/Tata_Motors/20090330_heavy_trucks_unit.html

Your Devil’s Advocate

EU Would “Help” in Burma’s Bogus 2010 Election

2009-03-26T05:34:00.001+06:30

European Union Special Envoy to Burma Piero Fassino made a few statements after meetings with Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda and Association of Southeast Asian Nations secretary general Surin Pitsuwan. He mentioned the *EU would vote to ease sanctions in Burma if the military junta eased restriction on opponents ahead to the 2010 election.

"It is impossible to achieve a free and fair election if the leader of the opposition is in prison," he said.

Though well intended it would appear the European Union still does not understand that Burma already had a legal and binding election. The people of Burma have already spoken in the 1990 Election. And they looked to the free world to assist them in their struggle to assert democracy against a criminal regime. Sadly, though unintended, Fassino legitimized a barbaric criminal regime who continues to murder its citizens. He and the EU’s posture were likened to giving Hitler the Sudetenland if he promised to stop killing Jews. Has the European Union forgotten about the human sacrifices that were made for democracy, the ongoing blood letting, torture and imprisonment of the citizens of Burma? What about morality and human rights Fassino?

It should be noted that the European Union does not speak for the citizens of the nations who prescribe to this economical block. Fact is the people of Europe in general are appalled by the activities of Than Shwe’s Burma as well as China’s total disregard for human rights. It is not all about money and material consequence Mr. Fassino. Though the media glossed over his statements in a light of positivity for the people of Burma, I found this reprehensible at the very least. In fact, I was shocked to learn the EU has sided with a murderous criminal regime and the illegal election of 2010.

The very notion the EU would make sure the elections of 2010 was fair and safe was shameful. Apparently the EU has decided to ignore the elections of 1990 by offering by participating in this criminally illegal election. This was a slap in the face and an insult to the core tenets of democracy and the voice of the people of Burma. Counterproductive at best this turn of events is totally unacceptable to the freedom fighters who are risking their lives today in Burma. This ridiculously naive approach to the crisis in Burma will surely fuel Than Shwe’s killing machine as more people are arrested, tortured and killed. Mr. Fassino’s misstatements only qualified an illegal election that is not the will of the people of Burma. How far beyond stupid are you Piero Fassino. Hopefully this was an act of ignorance rather than a calculated and intentional move to legitimize Than Shwe’s criminal regime. At some point in time humanity must take precedents over economics or civilization as we know it will cease to exist.

*http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1237969023.15

Your Devil’s Advocate

Paranoid Than Shwe of Burma Fills Prisons

2009-03-26T05:31:00.001+06:30

By carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Predictably the corrupt Burmese courts have begun to refill the emptied prisons with any and all opposition to the pending illegal 2010 elections. Daily men, women and students are being rounded up and tossed into prisons for the rest of their lives simply for opposing the rigged elections of Than Shwe. The ink was not even dry from the last report of 4 students being placed in irons when *13 more people were convicted of trumped up crimes. All of them political prisoners destined to die in prison for their belief in democracy and human rights. This is only the tip of the iceberg according to sources throughout Burma.

For every arrest that is known and reported there are literally hundreds of secret arrests and convictions of politically motivated people who oppose the criminal regime. Clearly Than Shwe is trying to break the back of the democratic movement within Burma but in reality he is offering more focus to his criminal behavior fore there are witnesses. Even his most staunch supporters around the world are finding it hard to justify his behavior. International corporations will soon find themselves hard pressed to explain why, not if, they financed this regime. Eye witnesses have also seen International Corporations use slave labor and force as they profiteered with Burma’s vast natural resources. And it is clear they will have to face the same tribunal Than Shwe and his criminal generals will for crimes against humanity.

Some people are simply dragged out of their homes and tossed in prisons deep within the jungles. Witnesses face incarceration or even death as the brutality continues behind Burma’s bamboo curtain. Rape torture and death face all political prisoners as the criminally illegal election date approaches. It was said some lesser known activists were simply taken out into the jungle and murdered. Their bodies placed in shallow graves. The full extent of Than Shwe’s secret operation to eradicate all opposition is yet to be revealed. Burmese citizens are quietly arrested on a daily basis throughout the country. And it is obvious that the reported cases are just a drop in the bucket since many more people are disappearing.

The not so secret wholesale murder of Karen and other ethnic villagers continue unabated as refugee centers on the Thai/Burma border fill beyond capacity. And the government’s propaganda machine continues to cause conflicts between religious and ethnic groups across the country. Than Shwe’s madness has not gone unnoticed though. His paranoia has turned him on his own generals and members of his inner circle since he now has them under close scrutiny. Confidential sources identify an army of fortune tellers or astrologers who actually dictate Than Shwe’s policies. The multi billion dollar Naypidaw or jungle capital and Peace Pagoda project was inspired by the whims of an astrologer. And it is a sure bet Than Shwe will soon shuffle his cabinet around even more as he tries to alter his destiny, as prescribed by his astrologers.

*http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15360

Your Devil’s Advocate

Are Than Shwe’s Day’s Numbered?

2009-03-26T05:30:00.001+06:30

By Carlos (Buffalohair)Guevara

With the growing numbers of people becoming aware of Than Shwe’s criminal regime world leaders are taking more notice of their constituency. As some nations waffle around to appease economical issues at the expense of humanity others are leaning towards morality. Clearly humanity and morality took precedents over money with Norway’s Minister of Finance Kristin Halvorsen, Germany’s Angela Merkel and Frances Rama Yada. They have become bastions of morality and ethics in a time were some national leaders favor economics over human rights

The United Nations declared that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention was illegal and listed a host of human rights violations with their scathing report according to the *Irrawaddy. Was Tomas Quintana paying attention? This was in stark contrast to Ibrahim Gambari’s endless visitations and his ultimate endorsement of the illegal 2010 election. Granted this did expose petty immoral international economic leaders who sided with him and their names should not be forgotten fore they shamed their nations.

Truly it did not require a Rhodes Scholar to realize that Than Shwe and his criminal regime was corrupt and morally reprehensible. With half a million refugees along the Thai/Burma Border filled with horrific tales of survival, rape and death Burma’s secrets were reveled. The human carnage from Cyclone Nargis should have been enough for the free world to realize this ongoing holocaust. Aid and money financed the construction of Than Shwe’s jungle capital Naypyidaw as well as his gold and emerald encrusted Pagoda of Peace. It was also reported he had 3.5 billion dollars of aid money in his coffers. And to think he was asking for more aid money.

Since 1990 the voice of the Burmese people was ignored as the legal election was nullified by Than Shwe. The victors arrested then placed in irons and a nation was plunged into darkness. Thousands and thousands of people were incarcerated and tortured for exercising their rights. Political prisoners were denied medical attention to this day. Many are facing death as of this writing do to the absolutely barbaric conduct of the Burmese government. The primary reasons sanctions against the regime seem to have failed is because of corporate interests from around the world continue to do business with Than Shwe. And we the people of the free world share in the shame for supporting these corporations.

With reconciliation on the lips of many world leaders it is only a matter of time before something will be done. In a surprising move China has taken the posture that the crisis in Burma must be resolved. Though I take this action with great reservation, it was a contrast to China’s position in the past. The solution would be quite simple since there was a legal and binding election back in 1990. Release the duly elected officials including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all the political prisoners. Establish a dialogue to insure a peaceful transition of power and stop the campaign of genocide on innocent people. Simply honor the election results of 1990. For nations to even consider the proposed 2010 election would be hypocrisy.

*http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=15354

Your Devil’s Advocate

Than Shwe’s Propaganda Machine Working Overtime

2009-03-20T01:37:00.002+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Desperate to counter the growing number of nations waking up to Than Shwe’s dark murderous secrets, Than Shwe’s minions of hate have begun producing fresh lies and fabrications. The *KNU/KNLA Peace Council just fired off a report making some of the most outlandish and completely silly claims to date. Of all things they urged Thailand to work with them in returning the Karen to their homeland since, “The war is over”. Nothing could be further than the truth as innocent villagers continue to flee for their lives or face extinction.

It should be noted the KNU/KNLA identified crimes against humanity of a wide variety that denoted their activities rather than throw blame on others. It is obvious they are desperate to defuse the findings Angelina Jolie will relay to the world since she actually visited the innocent victims of genocide. She will be a most credible witness to the crimes against humanity fore she had the attention of half a million survivors. Compound this event with the arrival of French Foreign Minister Rama Yada and you have a powerhouse of credibility that will surely sway international public opinion. Than Shwe’s secrets will soon be reveled like never before marking the beginning of the end of his murderous empire. One by one his allies will secretly ask for immunity if they testify against their former boss at the War Crimes Tribunal.

In a futile attempt to sound legitimate the KNU/KNLA lashed out at the evil media calling them liars, fabricators and masters of propaganda. This was humorous to say the least since they targeted the British Broadcasting Corporation, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and the Irrawaddy along with others calling them terrorists. If anything these organizations were the bastion of truth. Like a pot calling the kettle black they exposed their true nature and magnified the true purpose of Than Shwe’s latest literary disaster The New Light of Myanmar better known as The New Lie of Myanmar. This is a propaganda machine filled with lies designed to promote confusion. They went on to accuse the KNU, student groups, exiles, refugees and anyone else who opposed the criminal regime of causing unrest and acts of terrorism. Personally I find it laughable since this verified my suspicions of who actually robbed the convoy of trucks on the Mandalay-Muse trade corridor. This was a carefully planned operation to offer news for the New Lie of Myanmar and cause conflicts between ethnic groups.

There is no question Than Shwe is in the process of getting religious groups and ethnic groups to fight among themselves. With this distraction Than Shwe can move his criminal agenda forward and erase the election results of 1990 with his corrupt 2010 election. With prisons emptied he now has room to make more secret arrests of anyone or group who opposes the elections. If you recall, last year he freed 2,000 prisoners only to arrest members of the opposition. The Constitutional Referendum was a classic example of strong arm politics at its best. He intimidated and murdered for votes.

Those who voted against the Referendum received no Cyclone relief though most of the aid was sold on the black market according to eye witnesses. And as we all know Naypyidaw, The Pagoda of Death and his cyber city was financed with aid money. It was also reported he has well over 3 billion dollars “in reserve” that did not manage to reach Nargis victims so far. And the KNU/KNLA had the gall to say pro democracy groups and news organizations were involved in terrorism. It is their mentor General Than Shwe who is guilty of all the atrocities they tried to blame on others. And it is Than Shwe and his murderous thugs who will soon meet their dark destiny. Maybe if Than Shwe’s fortune tellers told him the truth he would have reconciled and begun the process of healing Burma.

His plan to divide the country before the elections is doomed to failure since he has managed to cause conflicts on several of his borders. This was not part of the equation and will surely alter his plans. With unrest on all levels of his government he is running out of allies. Now his generals are looking over their shoulders because Than Shwe has grown paranoid. Quietly Than Shwe is shuffling his cabinet out of fear fore no one is safe in his inner circle, anymore. Soon he will be surrounded by enemies.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Norway Sides with Humanity

2009-03-18T06:25:00.001+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

In an era where nations of the world are choosing economics over humanity it’s refreshing to note that Norway is not one of them. Minister of Finance Kristin Halvorsen blacklisted *China’s Dongfeng Motor Group Co. Ltd. for its continual business dealings with the criminal regime of Burma excluding Dongfeng from a lucrative global investment fund.

Kristin Halvorsen was quoted as saying;

"We cannot finance companies that support the military dictatorship in Burma through the sale of military materials"

This was truly a wonderfully stark contrast to the threat laden visitation by Denmark’s Ulla Toreas and Norway’s Erik Solheim. Behind closed doors this duo threatened pro democracy groups with the loss of funding if they did not participate in the impending 2010 elections. This sent a chilling message throughout the exiled Burmese communities around the world and many people simply could not believe their ears. Truly this was not a message the good people of Denmark and Norway wanted to give and it is heartening to note Norway’s stance on humanity.

Noting Dongfeng’s sale of 900 trucks to Burma that were converted for military use, Norway’s Counsel of Ethic’s stood by their code of ethics which clearly respected human life over financial gain. In a time where economics has become a priority over human suffering it was great news that this Scandinavian nation made a stand on the side of morality and human rights. There is no question Beijing will not be happy with this turn of events and will most likely resort to their veiled forms of extortion to sway this landmark decision. A self sufficient nation such as Norway does not need Chinese money and attempts to extort them will be futile at best. They are their own nation.

Norway’s Kristin Halvorsen is a champion of humanity and proved to the world, money is not everything. Other nations should follow this example.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Who will save Burma's women and children?

2009-03-14T19:12:00.001+06:30

By Nilar Thein
Published on June 19, 2008

I woke up from a dream in the middle of the night. I was with my daughter, playing in a small garden.

We were playing hide and seek. I was looking at her from behind a tree. She was so beautiful, with the prettiest smile on her face, looking for me happily. I couldn't hide anymore. I wanted her to find me. I wanted to hold her in my arms and kiss her face gently. I started to show myself to her, but, suddenly I saw three men -with black coats and ugly faces - watching from the shadows near my daughter. I stepped back. I wanted to be found by my daughter, not by them. I still saw my daughter, still looking for me with her innocent smile. I didn't want to hide anymore. I wanted her to find me, but these men would take me away and put me in hell. Then I woke up, with tears on my cheeks.
I have been separated from my daughter for nearly ten months. A midnight knock at our door in August last year changed our lives dramatically. The military junta's security forces took my husband Kyaw Min Yu (also known as Jimmy) on the night of August 21, 2007. He is a leader of the prominent dissident group, the 88 Generation Students, comprising former student leaders and former political prisoners. He and other leaders were taken from their homes that night by the authorities. As a former student activist and a former political prisoner myself, I knew very well how my husband and friends would be treated in the junta's interrogation cells. Therefore, when they came back to arrest me, I went into hiding.

But I must continue to lead the 88 Generation Students with my other colleagues, so that Burma may realise its freedom, and find justice and democracy someday. I must avoid being arrested. However, there are so many difficulties and hardships in moving secretly from one hiding place to another, and I didn't want my daughter to share these hardships. Therefore, I decided to send my three-month-old baby to my parents. Now, I miss her so much.
My mind wanders to University Avenue, where "the Lady", Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has been detained under house arrest for so many years. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient, will have to spend her 63rd birthday today alone in detention. She will be missing her two sons, too. Her strength and determination helps me and many women in Burma stand up for justice. I thank her for being with us and leading our movement. She is a great reminder to the world that the military junta that rules our country forcibly separates mothers and children.

Coincidentally, the UN Security Council will hold a debate in New York today on "Women, Peace and Security". This debate is a discussion of UNSC Resolution 1325, which was passed unanimously in October, 2000. Resolution 1325 "Calls on all parties to armed conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, and all other forms of violence in situations of armed conflict." It also "Emphasises the responsibility of all States to put an end to impunity and to prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes including those relating to sexual violence against women and girls, and in this regard, stresses the need to exclude these crimes, where feasible from amnesty provisions."

US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is expected to chair the debate, with many world leaders discussing the development of women, peace and security. Will they discuss Burma? Will they remember Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the women of Burma who are suffering all forms of abuse by the military junta?

Burma is now in the midst of two conflicts. One is the 50-year-old civil war, raging between the Burmese military and the minority resistance forces, predominately in the eastern part of the country. Burmese troops are raping with impunity tribal women and girls, some as young as eight years old. Burmese soldiers use women in conflict areas as porters to carry their military equipment and supplies during the day, and use them as sex slaves at night. Many women have been brutally killed to erase the evidence of these crimes.

The other conflict is a 20-year old war, waged by the Burmese junta against its own unarmed citizens, who are calling for freedom, justice and democracy. Women activists are beaten, arrested, tortured and then put in prison for many years. Many female activists are mistreated and sexually assaulted by their interrogators and jailers. Children are used as bait by the authorities to get their mothers arrested. Of the 2.5 million people severely affected by Cyclone Nargis - many of whom the military junta simply left to die through starvation and disease - at least a million are women and girls. Recently, a UN expert said that up to 35,000 pregnant women, all cyclone survivors, are at extreme risk of death. However, they will never receive any care from the military.

I hope that Secretary of State Rice and other leaders at the UN Security Council will give consideration to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the women of Burma during their debate. Resolution 1325 is a great development, but implementation and enforcement is still in question. When the government itself is the abuser of human rights and the perpetrator of rape and other forms of gender-based violence, who will protect the victims? Who will end their tragedy? Who will secure the joyful reunion of mothers with their children?

The appeasement policy of some bureaucrats is shameful. Effective and urgent action from the UN Security Council is necessary to help the women in Burma. No more debate. Take action. Please let me be happily reunited with my daughter.

nilar thein is a former student leader in the 1988 democracy uprising in Burma and spent more than nine years in prison.

©2009 BNN

Than Shwe’s “Death” Pagoda, an Ominous Sign

2009-03-13T03:25:00.003+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Gueavara

(Photo AFP) Named the Uppatasanti or Peace Pagoda in Than Shwe’s jungle capital Naypyidaw, it predictably began to unveil its curse of death as 20 people were killed during this festive day of consecration on a Ferris wheel. Apparently the Ferris wheel collapsed marking a grizzly death to its innocent victims according to a report in *Irrawaddy. It was a sad but befitting day to mark the beginning of the end of Than Shwe’s criminal regime. Using religion as a tool for controlling the people or influencing material gain has its dire consequences and Than Shwe’s regime is not above the retribution he is soon to face. This reality will also be shared by mankind as the world faces a total financial meltdown and the wars needed to bail out the world economies.

The **European Union has chosen to side with the criminal regime as well as industries within the free world and they will soon face similar consequences. Material lusting at the expense of humanity was all too apparent in US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech when she was in Asia last week. She sided with economics over humanity and chose to ignore China’s blatant disregard for human life and their bustling slave labor industry. Almost on queue from Hillary, China began its iron fisted attack on the Tibetan people. China also unveiled its ***“Two Oceans Policy” where they plan to rule the high seas as they accelerate their military spending. To show their dominance and control over the US they confronted our Navy this week as well. And all the while, the US and the free world are denuded of its core industries and moved to China. We buy Chinese goods at the expense of our own people through Hillary Clinton and China’s outlet center, Wal-Mart financing their military expansion. How far beyond stupid are we?

Soon sovereignty and democracy will be on the chopping block as a “global solution” for this economic disaster comes into view. We will be a one world order as financial concerns take precedents over all humanity and national boundaries. Our reward for looking the other way in the criminal regime of Burma and its on going holocaust will be to loose our own civil liberties. The fact humanity chose to overlook the holocaust in Africa and South America as well as Burma will soon offer the same fate or curse that faces Than Shwe and his murderous criminal regime. Two wrongs never make a right and mankind will face catastrophe in epic proportions that money will have no power to stop.

As the people notice the rise of corporate greed in the world the threat of Communism comes into focus. The fact China is deeply involved in this world wide dash for cash proves this is not the case. China does not follow the tenets of Mao Zedong’s Little Red Book and has chosen to ignore the Cultural Revolution in quest of financial gain. China’s Great Leap Forward was in all actuality the Great Leap Backward as the Chinese Communist Party became the mirror image of the despised Qing Dynasty. China as well as the rest of the world has become infected with a familiar cancer called Fascism not communism. Unlike Hitler’s version this rendition has evolved to the point were national concerns have been replaced with the concerns of international corporations. Benito Mussolini most eloquently stated; “Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power”.

Though the term corporatism is not widely used for obvious reasons the term “Globalization” has fore they are two in the same. Likened to the former Soviet Union, economic trade compacts around the world are swallowing up nations solely for economical consequences. The public as a whole are no longer citizens of their respective nations but “consumers” and targeted for profits, their land and natural resources. And this came to pass with the blessings of the World Trade Organization, the Schutz Staffle of International Corporatism.

In Orwellian terms the public lives in an era of double speak and bold faced lies as they continually make excuses for criminality. While ignoring the obvious they are loosing civil liberties, rights and their dignity as they ignore the greatest hostile corporate takeover in history. Like Burma’s Than Shwe and his Pagoda of Peace, mankind will choose the Pagoda of Globalization to mark a new beginning and financial security, at the expense of democracy and humanity. Likened to Than Shwe, the actuality of this venture will mark the beginning of the end. And the crimes against humanity perpetrated by Burma, China, Darfur and others will no longer be able to be ignored fore humanity will be in the clutches of tyranny as well. Only then will they realize the error of their ambivalence to the plight of others, but it will be too late.

As world leaders mask the true nature of international corporatism by using religious and ethnic differences to keep the world divided. They do not realize they are a part of destiny within the very texts they misquote and butcher to justify their monetary agenda. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, The Dali Lama and innumerable other political and religious icons have purported peaceful means to accomplish the goals of humanity and it will come to pass. The texts from all religions of the world are very clear about the time of change; the Earth will have a separate agenda to man’s material goals. The law of physics, "To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." is a binding piece of legislation that governs the course of human history. Though it will get the darkest before the dawn just remember, the meek shall inherit the Earth and the Pagodas of tyranny will crumble into dust.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Nargis Aid Builds Pagoda

2009-03-13T03:24:00.001+06:30

By Carlas(Buffalohair)Guevara

Than Shwe’s ride The Ferris Wheel of Death was consecrated with human blood just like his Pagoda as 20 people were killed to the joy of his military generals. They plunged to their deaths and were crushed by falling debris as the Ferris wheel self destructed from the shoddy workmanship provided by his staff of child slaves and indentured craftsman. To bad Ulla Toraes and her side kick Erik Solheim were not present so they could enjoy the festivities and see where Cyclone Nargis Aid actually went. Noticeably not present was Ibrahim Gambari who was responsible for seeking out funding for Than Shwe’s criminal regime. Ibrahim would be proud of how the money was spent and possibly Than Shwe would have given him another priceless ruby for his efforts.

With his army of fortunetellers and soothsayers Than Shwe’s consecration went off without a hitch as he and his family shamelessly donated diamonds and rubies to Than Shwe’s shrine of human suffering and world wide deception. It was reported there were European and other guests at Than’s gathering as well. Most likely they were corporate execs who also filled Than Shwe’s coffers and took full advantage of Burma’s abundance of slave laborers and natural resources.

As Than Shwe prayed at the consecration you could almost hear him that his G*D Satan for providing him the bountifully fruitful Cyclone Nargis. It providing him with the perfect alibi to beg the world for relief money and emergency aid for his bustling black market industries he is known throughout Burma for. With hundreds of millions of dollars already invested in his grandiose amusement park of death and the adjoining city Naypyidaw it is clear he will need more money to expand. Hopefully the world will hear his plea since it is rumored he wants to build a roller coaster.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Funding Death and Tyranny

2009-03-07T02:27:00.000+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

No incident spells out Than Shwe’s greed better than Cyclone Nargis. Though it is becoming popular to say sanctions have not worked in Burmese politics one must realize sanctions have not been fully implemented. With a host of major corporations contributing massive amounts of money to the criminal regime in spite of sanctions, it is clear sanctions were not given an opportunity to work. Much of the aid donated for Cyclone Nargis was sold into the black market like so much other aid the country received over the years. That is common knowledge and it is surprising so many people who’ve traveled into Burma never made that connection.

Insiders within Burma repeatedly said that people who voted against the Constitutional Referendum or were pro democracy received no aid at all in spite of world relief efforts. Religious persecution was rampant in the aftermath as well as the continual killing of the Karen and other tribal people. Than Shwe’s continued crimes against humanity has gone unabated even during the cyclone. People who volunteered to bury the dead were arrested and tortured as bodies were left to rot in waterways, trees and every where else. Tribal people were left to fend for themselves while he sold food stuffs and building supplies on the black market. It was also reveled that outside observers were taken to photo-ops and strategically placed relief efforts to “show” how much Than Shwe cared for his people. It was all a sham since he failed to show the observers the actual suffering that was caused by not only Cyclone Nargis but from his ambivalence and murderous death squads.

The cyclone yielded Than Shwe an abundance of orphaned children to use as slaves and child soldiers. The bounty that was given to Burma from a concerned world was used to complete his jungle capital (Naypyidaw) as well as his cyber city Yadanabon. Weapons and hard cash was also the end product of cyclone aid which went into the pockets of his inner circle. Giving Than Shwe and his criminal regime more aid and money would only fill the coffers of his elaborate money laundering machine and not the people it was intended for. The black market has always been Than Shwe’s choice when it came to aid of any kind and the suffering people continually were left to fend for themselves.

Aid to this criminal regime would have horrific consequences for the civilian population his military is murdering at this juncture. He would spend it on more advanced military equipment so he can resupply his killing machine. Rockets and more land mines would be purchased as well as bullets and more military hardware. Of course his jungle capital and his cyber city would benefit from such a bounty, that is a given. And to think the Burmese people looked to the outside world for help when this criminal mad man decided to ignore the election results. Now the people of Burma fear the outside world will fund their continued systematic demise as the world turns a deaf ear on their cries for democracy. There is no excuse for the stupidity of world leaders and their economic development minions who purported the advantages of an illegal election. Or were they in the deep pockets of Than Shwe all along?

Your Devil’s Advocate

Indict the SPDC - Canada

2009-03-02T05:10:00.002+06:30

By Kirk Duffin

ONTARIO/CANADA- The ruling military junta of Burma, known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), albeit being defeated in parliamentary elections, manages the nation free of the democratic process – repressing discourse and imprisoning political opponents.

Within the eastern region of the nation, the Karen people, comprised of peasant farmers, find solace in the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), a joint organization operating to secure an autonomous and democratic Karen State – one of the last remaining groups revolting in an effort to gain self-government, as various others groups have been coerced by the SPDC into signing ceasefire agreements, which amounts to less bloodshed in exchange for a total forfeiting of basic rights.

From secluded military bases, KNLA soldiers, through strategic orders given by KNU leaders, clash with the tatmandaw, the SPDC military, which enters the region to suppress the opposition towards the SPDC and to ensure the ruling junta remains the sole authority within the nation.

As Daniel Pye reports, Karen villagers, along with Karen national Union and the Karen National Liberation Army – which the SPDC feels is one single group, is under continual assault from the tatmandaw via a SPDC practice called the ‘four cuts,” which aims to deprive the Karen of food, funds, recruits, and information. In addition, as Roland Wichser notes, the SPDC contracts the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a rebel group formed by Buddhist Monk, U Thuzana, to aid in the systematic eradication of the Karen people.

In a recent report, Amnesty International concluded the SPDC, via its military and funded rebel groups, is persecuting Karen civilians through continual assaults - amounting to crimes against humanity under international law.

Alleged violations include:

•Forced Labour
•Torture
•Extrajudicial Executions
•War Rape
•Forced Relocation
•Recruiting Child soldiers
•Human Minesweeping
•Unlawful Detention
•Arbitrary Arrests

It is imperative that the SPDC be held accountable for its alleged crimes against humanity. As a single citizen, wanting the violence to cease and for justice to be served, I am calling for a private member’s bill to be introduced in the House of Commons, containing the following articles:

Appoint a special envoy to Burma to investigate accusations of crimes against humanity perpetrated and/or supported by the SPDC.

If the evidence is sufficient to merit an indictment against the State Peace and Development Council, issue an arrest warrant for all parties involved in the alleged crimes against humanity.

Since the statute of limitations for a charge of crimes against humanity is not applicable, prosecute the accused perpetrators once it is feasible to apprehend the accused and place them on trial in a Canadian court.

Under the Rome Statute of the ICC, nations have the authority to hold individuals/groups accountable for offences deemed to be crimes against the whole of humanity. Furthermore, universal jurisdiction provides a sovereign nation, removed from the offence in question, to prosecute individuals/groups for offences under international law. This clause has been used in the past by Canadian and Zimbabwean lawyers in an attempt to prosecute Robert Mugagabe for crimes against humanity and war crimes - implemented via a draft indictment presented to then Minister of Justice Martin Cauchon.

I therefore urge my fellow citizens to write to their local MP and tell them to introduce a private member’s bill in the House of Commons, proposing a special envoy be sent to Burma to investigate accusations of crimes against humanity.

For a sample letter, to be used by Canadian readers, please e-mail indict.the.spdc@hotmail.com

©2009-BNN

Denmark Extorts Burmese Democracy Groups

2009-02-26T05:13:00.002+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Denmark, a member of the World Trade Organization, clearly they violated the European Unions ban on high-level visits to Burma as well as show the lack of moral fiber. Denmark’s Development Minister Ulla Toraes and Norway’s Minister of Development Erick Solheim deceived their citizens as well as the world when they traveled to Burma to observe Cyclone Nargis relief efforts.
Toraes and Solheim chose to side with the criminal regime of Burma and use extortion to force pro democracy groups to participate in the elections or loose critically needed funding. The world should be aware of the character of this duo of deception and blackmail for it is not the voices of the countries they represent. Did they also receive bribes from Than Shwe like it is alleged Ibrahim Gambari? Or are they part and parcel in the pockets of international interests who seek to rape Burma of all her natural resources?

With Secretary of Hate Hillary Clinton choosing to address economical concerns rather than human suffering it is obvious human rights has no place in society. Toraes and Solheim should be investigated and their finances reveled to see if they received gratuities and favor from unknown sources. Chances are they are deeply involved with the likes of Swift Financial Group who launders Euro’s through their elaborate financial network for the Military Regime of Burma. They do not represent the good people of Denmark or Norway and should be sanctioned at the very least for their amoral conduct.

How dare these boneheads qualify a criminal regime that uses rape, false imprisonment and death to force their rule on a nation? How dare they insult the fallen hero’s of Burma’s struggle to achieve democracy and human rights? How far beyond stupid are these mental giants to qualify genocide and the continual assault of Karen and other tribal people? There must be more to this act of collusion committed morally bankrupt Toraes and Solheim and it is strongly suggested that journalists around the world probe more deeply into these partners of Than Shwe for their actions are despicable as best. Obviously they both are puppets of international corporatists who place money before humanity and would sell their respective nations for monetary gain. Is Norway next to propose sanctions of democracy? It’s all about the money.

Your Devil’s Advocate

©2009-BNN

Another Than Shwe Smoke Screen

2009-02-24T20:03:00.002+06:30

By Carlos (Buffalohair)Guevara

With the release of about 6,300 prisoners, with only a hand full of political prisoners, it is clear this is yet another tactical ploy by Than Shwe. Last year the Burmese government released about 2,000 prisoners only to secretly refill the prisons with pro democracy advocates, entertainers and anyone who opposed his rule. There is no question this prison release will make more room for more pro democracy and human rights advocates who oppose the illegal 2010 elections.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s failure to address human right’s concerns in favor of profits before humanity was the wrong message to send China and Burma, let alone Tibet. United Nations Human Rights envoy Tom Quintana’s failure to speak with pro democracy groups and eye witnesses to egregious crimes against humanity only exacerbated the plight of human beings who looked with hope and promise to these so called icons of freedom and human eights. How far beyond stupid were these envoys or was it calculated all along?

Humanity has been put aside in favor of economical consequences as the jungles of Burma flowed with human suffering. Did Quintana visit the KNU or visit refugee centers along the border? Did Hillary Clinton visit any of China’s slave labor Gulags populated with approximately a 80 millions human beings? Not a chance. Her visit to Indonesia was nothing more than a series of photo-ops and junket dinners since she failed to garner an audience with the leaders of the Muslim community, her primary mission. Throwing a few strategically vague barbs at North Korea was nothing more than impotence personified fore she would not dare upset the goose that laid the golden egg, China.

Truly this reeked of a much darker agenda where the corporate bottom line took precedence over humanity and democracy. Now Than Shwe will advance with his plan to secretly arrest, torture and murder anyone who opposes him and his illegal elections in 2010. With 6,000 plus beds to fill in his prisons the people of Burma had better prepare for another round of kangaroo courts and false imprisonment. The non actions of Clinton and Quintana far over shadowed Ibrahim Gambari’s lackluster performance by far and soon other nations will follow suite as this reprehensible and dishonorable signal gives the green light to other potential dictators.

Human rights organizations around the world were stunned by this turn of events but I saw it coming whence Barack Obama selected Hillary as Secretary of State. Like a fox watching the hen house Hillary will eventually make her way to Africa, another place where she and her husband garner “donations” from third world dictators. The cancer of corporate greed and their exalted corporate bottom line will continue as economics takes center stage in world politics.

Money tainted with blood will fill the pockets of industry as “progress” moves forward drowning the cries of the suffering. The only hope for humanity will be the intangible and much prophesized “time of change”. Absolute faith within our respective dogma’s will be our ultimate weapon as the Earth prepares to cleanse the globe of a disease rot with greed and tyranny fore it is written, the meek shall inherit the Earth. Like Martin Luther King once said, “Remember, everything Hitler did was legal”.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Prisoner releases are old news

2009-02-24T04:22:00.001+06:30

By Pascal Khoo-Thwe

Feb 23, 2009 (DVB)–The release of political prisoners in Burma announced by the Burmese regime on Friday is not news. They shouldn't be there in the first place.

21 February. A snow storm hits Oslo. Burma's military junta declares the release of 6313 'state' prisoners 'out of charity'. Neither of these events, in my opinion, is news.

The similarity between the two is that the events have occurred in their respective countries so often in the past that no local residents care. But the latter is manmade and it is impossible not to find it laughable but also depressing at the same time as the tragedy is preventable.

My first reaction was; 'I didn't know that there were that many criminals in our country.' The State Peace and Development Council released 9002 prisoners in September 2008 and there were fewer than 10 political prisoners among them. This time around 20 political prisoners are released. Again, it is nothing new. There are more than 2000 political prisoners still languishing in jails throughout the country, away from their families.

One constant characteristic of the Burmese military government is its obsession with numbers and names. If you read the state-controlled newspapers and watch Myanmar television, you will see how many watts of electricity the state is providing for the nation while half of the habitable parts of the country are in darkness every night, or how many tons of rice are being exported while most people can afford only one meal a day, or which generals went to 'inspect' which state factories (in fact, they are owned by companies controlled by their relatives and cronies) and 'gave necessary instructions'. If they could, they would also state how much air the people breathe every day as it is almost impossible not to be breaking one law or another in the country. You can be charged with treason if you are found possessing foreign currencies, or talking to your relatives abroad or offering food to monks or burying the dead. It all sounds like a joke but it is a cruel truth. Charles Dickens, eat your heart out.

Not only political prisoners but also ordinary people who go about their daily business to find their daily rice in Burma are imprisoned unjustly. For example, villagers were ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of kyat for collecting firewood and threatened with violence by gun-toting soldiers who fired their guns into the air when villagers could not pay them all the money they demanded, while logging and mining companies are allowed to destroyed the country as they like.

Burma is a country dominated by (not a country of , mind you) thugs, thieves and busybodies who have nothing else to do but ruin the soul of a nation. By now the international community, especially the United Nations, should realise that they are dealing with a group of ruthless generals who would do anything and would say yes to anything to stay in power but will do nothing that humanity and decency demand. The UN is only promoting the cause of the junta by just meeting and talking to the generals without putting muscle behind its words.

On his release, Rangoon Sanchaung National League for Democracy chairman Thet Wai, who was jailed for reporting forced labour practices in Burma to the International Labour Organisation, said that he looked at his release in a positive light but he insisted that it has become a habit of the junta to release only a few political prisoners whenever it is pressured by the international community and neighbouring countries.

In fact, the generals only release a few political prisoners when they have major political gains to make, such as the time when it wanted to sell its new constitution to the international community last year and now ahead of the proposed 2010 election. The junta is like people who give only the smallest amount and the poorest quality to other people and want to get all the best things from them. When I checked the numbers of other prisoners released I noticed that they don't add up, and I started to doubt whether 9002 prisoners were actually released last year or 6313 this year. The junta has never released the list of prisoners released from each jail or allowed independent groups to monitor the releases.

When DVB asked Mandalay Amarapura MP-elect Dr Zaw Myint Maung's only daughter how she felt about her father's release, she said in a tearful and joyful tone, "I am nearly 21 now but I have never lived with him. My daddy often told me that he would come back for my graduation." She was only months old when he was imprisoned in 1990. I wonder how many mothers and children are still crying tonight behind this happy ending. There are people who can help end their sorrows and they know who they are. All they need is political will.

Meanwhile, the snow keeps on falling in Oslo and the Norwegians continue to wait for the unusually late trains without a murmur in the freezing temperature – to go shopping. As I write this, unknown people are still being imprisoned, beaten up tortured and killed in Burma for various reasons.

I will only believe that there is a change for the better in Burma when there is a snow storm in Burma or when the Norwegian government releases thousands of prisoners in one go.

Secretary of Hate Hillary Speaks on Burma

2009-02-20T18:53:00.003+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

(BNN)-Secretary of Hate Hillary Clinton suggested that lifting sanctions may be a possibility in dealing with the criminal regime of Burma according to a *Washington Post article today. Guess it does not matter that the duly elected leader of this troubled nation, Aung San Suu Kyi, opposed any commerce to be conducted with crime boss Generalissimo Than Shwe. Apparently the continued campaign of rape and murder of the Karen and other ethnic people of Burma was of no consequence to this rising star of international corporatism. And with good reason since her husband Bill Clinton profiteers from the Empire of Repression, China.

It should be of no surprise to Washington watchers since Bill had total disregard for American industries and the people he purported to serve. How can we expect anything less than total disregard for the people of Burma when he showed malice against the people of America? Yet the mainstream media chooses to ignore the reprehensible conduct of the Clintons as a whole. It’s all about the corporate dollar.

The media boasts a wondrous and successful visit to Indonesia showing Hillary at fanciful meetings at Obama’s former elementary school. They also failed make mention she was a total failure in the main reason for her trip, to establish dialogue with the Muslim community. They failed to mention Muslim leader Din Syamsuddin totally rejected her invitation making her visit to Indonesia a dismal failure. The media also down talked the furor and concern the country had for her safety since there was so much opposition to Hillary. The media said there was some minor demonstrations, a total misrepresentation of the facts since the country had to place thousands more policeman to protect her safety.

It was reprehensible that she would conduct talks about Burma with the Indonesian government since they don’t have a very shiny track record in human rights either. With that aside she will be off to China, her family cash cow and there is no question she will wine and dine with cronies she made rich on the bones of the American economy. And to think Bill Clinton was defensive about being called the reason for America’s loss of industry when in fact he sold his country down the path of ruin, all for the corporate bottom line

It does not matter if China uses slave labor and keeps her people in a constant state of fear. It does not matter that the impotent United Nations with their spineless referendums identified China for the wholesale murder of **Falun Gong members for their internal organs. Showing a total lack of moral fiber, Hillary ignored facts about their bed fellow China. Her distain for democracy is all too apparent as she promotes globalization around the world. Her total disregard for the suffering people of Burma as well as the heroes of democracy locked up in prisons across Burma revels her true nature I fear. Only in passing did she mention Aung San Suu Kyi in her shamefully transparent speeches that only addressed women’s rights. Hillary and the bogus emissary Ibrahim Gambari are not on the side of human rights, they are on the side of the all mighty dollar, plain and simple.

Some people call her a contemporary Neville Chamberlain while others call her a minion of Satan. I call her the Queen of Corporatism. She did also revel that the Obama administration was pondering relaxing the embargo imposed on Than Shwe’s criminal regime. She will most likely promote the illegal 2010 Elections. Maybe Hillary got a million dollar ruby as well.

Read more on Secretary of Hate

** http://www.faluninfo.net/article/834/?cid=84

Your Devil’s Advocate

Than Shwe’s Latest Propaganda Machine

2009-02-18T04:27:00.003+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)

United Nations, Friend or Foe?

The criminal regime of Burma launched their latest publication called “The New Light of Myanmar, better known as The New LIE of Myanmar. Predictably there was a shelling of a Thai/Burma border town (Myawaddy) this publication immediately blamed on the Karen National Union. As if this lie was not enough they also claimed the KNU was responsible for the atrocities the Burmese Military was infamous for such as murder, rape, planting of land mines and raising the villages of the impoverished Karen people.

This unbelievable blatant attempt by the Junta to cast their guilt on others is yet another attempt by Than Shwe to justify the need for military action against the people of Burma. Propaganda at its worst is the only way to describe this feeble attempt to blemish the KNU. Or was this a set up all along since United Nations Human Rights Envoy Thomas Ojea Quintana was coming to visit.

It was also equally odd when Quintana did come to Burma he only visited the pro Than Shwe splinter groups KNU/KNLA and DKBA. Is this yet another attempt to justify the impending 2010 elections? Why did Quintana fail to visit the KNU or take a stroll through the refugee communities to get actual first hand reports of the true nature of Than Shwe’s criminal regime? Did Than Shwe give Quintana a million dollar ruby like it is alleged of Gambari? Or is the United Nations in reality just a puppet of the World Trade Organization and the Globalization Cancer that is infecting the Earth?

I would hate to think the United Nations as a whole is as corrupt as Ibrahim Gambari or as equally as inept fore if this agency is, Quintana is only wasting our time. I can hear it now; Quintana will evolve some statement slapping Than Shwe’s hand for continual violations of human rights. He might even ask Than to release the political prisoners and Aung San Suu Kyi. Oh goodie, another bunch of hot air that will result in nothing but feel good politics and false hope for the people of Burma. And true to form we will learn of atrocities that were committed while Quintana was in Burma. I attribute this to Than Shwe’s arrogates and show of defiance. If you have not noticed, he has his goons commit heinous crimes while peace envoys of any kind are in Burma. I am glad he will soon be dead. The fighting peacock is awakening fore Burma has come full circle. The high court of retribution will soon give sentence to Than Shwe and those who’ve financed his reign of death.

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair

Bad Boy Gambari

2009-02-17T21:36:00.002+06:30

by Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

With news of Gambari urging Burma to proceed with the illegal election planned for 2010, it is clear Ibrahim Gambari is not on the side of democracy. It is obvious to most Burmese people Gambari is only wasting valuable time with his counterproductive banter and lackluster performance.

Sources within Burma stated repeatedly that Gambari received a beautiful multi million dollar ruby as a form of bribery by Than Shwe. Another seedy tidbit from within Burma was a tale about Ibrahim Gambari and his romp in the sack with at least one young aspiring Burmese starlet. It would not surprise me one bit since a diplomat from his homeland of Nigeria gave Than Shwe’s representative a gift of $500,000 recently in cold hard cash.

Spending time with strumpets and receiving hush money seems to be all this so called envoy has accomplished over the years. His track record in Burma scored him a dismal zero since he only managed to buy more time for Than Shwe to arrest and murder his opposition. While Gambari wined and dined in opulence the cries of the Karen people echoed in the jungles of Burma as government troops raped and murdered them. National League for Democracy & 88 Generation Students Group members as well as friends and associates were arrested and moved to isolated prisons to be tortured. Popular entertainers from all genres have been silently removed and placed in irons. And now Aung San Suu Kyi had her sentence extended for another year.

Gambari is a criminal who used his position for personal gain at the expense of a suffering people who trusted the United Nations. When Than Shwe dies or when his regime crumbles Gambari should be tried along with the rest of the vermin he protected. He dishonored the United Nations as well as disrespect the good people of Burma who trusted him. He should not only step down as envoy to Burma, he should also be arrested and charged with dereliction of duty and excepting bribes from a criminal regime.

In some respects Ibrahim Gambari is much worse than Than Shwe and his criminal regime. At the very least Than Shwe is an outwardly detestable and loathsome creature who profiteers from death, deception and bribes from western corporations. Gambari pretends to be an angel of mercy offering false hope to a struggling repressed people when in reality his palm is greased with blood money.

Clearly the demands of Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD have not changed over the years. All they wanted was for the election results of 1990 to be honored and the voice of the Burmese people recognized. Surely it did not require countless trips to Burma for Gambari to figure that out. How far beyond stupid is he? Or was his trips nothing more than opulent vacations and self serving profitable junkets filled with party girls and expensive wine? I venture to say the latter since it is obvious he did less than nothing for the oppressed people of Burma. It makes me wonder if he had a hand in extending Aung San Suu Kyi’s sentence.

One day he will face trial for his efforts to assist Than Shwe along side other corrupt corporate heads who’ve lined the pockets of this criminal regime. As for Than Shwe, he will soon be dead and his family members will be living in hiding and in fear of retribution for daddy’s sins. His hand picked jackals will murder one another as they fight to take control of Burma only to be arrested by a military who decided to stand by their people. Naypyitaw, Than Shwe’s jungle capital, will be the Nuremburg of Burma as former generals of Than Shwe’s criminal regime stands trial for crimes against humanity. And there I’ll be with my pal Myat Ko who once served time in Insein Prison. We will be sipping an ice tea on a hot humid Burmese day. When the judge asks us for a verdict we will give the thumbs down in Roman flare. Then we will hand these convicted vermin to an eager crowd outside of the court house and let them decide the fate of these scoundrels, including Ibrahim Gambari.

Your Devil’s Advocate

©BNN

Heroes in Burma's Hell

2009-02-13T22:56:00.007+06:30

By Wiland Roscher

Burma is no longer in the news. As long as there are no spectacular pictures of an army attacking defenceless monks the media will remain silent about Burma. There is a credit crisis in all media. They make money from the profound human misery in East Burma. That is where the Karen minority live. They are under daily attack by a heavily armed army that violates human rights on a grand scale. More than 3000 villages have already been burnt down by rebels of the Junta. More than half a million people have been displaced. When the rebels enter a village they open fire on the fleeing residents, so the surrounding area is littered with bodies. People who fall into their hands are tortured or decapitated.

Once a village has been burnt down hundreds of mines are laid around it. The rebels know the villagers will return to look for the remains of their homes and people who have been killed. Hence after the army’s departure there are fresh victims as a result of the mines. Even if they don’t burn down a house in which people are found, they lay mines at the front door so the residents still fall victim to them.

Villagers flee into the jungle for cover. There they anxiously await developments, without food or a roof over their heads. Night and day they dread the possible return of the military to claim more victims. At night they keep quiet, a crying baby may make the difference between life and death. Pregnant women, small children, babies, old people are waiting in the Hell of Burma. Even if the military keep away, villagers remain in the jungle. They have nowhere to go.

There is one hope, the Free Burma Rangers. They are trained helpers offering medical assistance to Junta victims in the jungle. After a village has been struck the Rangers sometimes risk their lives, searching the jungle for up to a fortnight. Hunted and pursued by Junta rebels. The paths that the Rangers walk are also strewn with mines. Their work is difficult and extremely dangerous. When the Free Burma Rangers reach the site of a burnt village fugitives pour in from the jungle. They are given medical first aid.
But the Rangers themselves need help. They are short of medical and surgical supplies. The need is great. They have to make do with what little they have. For lack of instruments they have to amputate a landmine victim’s leg with a pocket knife, with no anaesthetic. Likewise, wounds are stitched and dental operations performed without any anaesthetic.

The Free Burma Rangers need help. Not money but medical equipment in the form of scalpels, stethoscopes, tonometers, scissors, obstetric forceps, surgical dressings and needles, instruments for amputations, metal syringes, extraction forceps, etc. This is not an appeal for money but for medical equipment no longer used in the Netherlands.

Burma News therefore appeals to all surgeons, dentists and hospitals to collect this material for the Free Burma Rangers. The suffering is great. Our website shows videos of what the Rangers are doing. Be warned, some of the pictures may be shocking.

If you are a doctor or a dentist, or if someone in your environment is a medical practitioner of some kind, please help the Free Burma Rangers.

You can contact us via our contact form or by email.

(editing and translation by Marcelle Manley)

In Memoriam Heros of the Free Burma Rangers

©2009-BNN

Burma’s governance operates reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984

2009-02-13T04:54:00.001+06:30

by Kirk Duffin

In Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell writes of a fictional totalitarian regime that controls the masses through propaganda and government institutions named as antonyms. For example, The Ministry of Peace wages constant war, while the Ministry of Plenty is charged with rationing food and goods. Albeit, being a novel aimed at warning about the dangers of totalitarianism, of which Orwell witnessed during the Second World War, its fictional account holds validity in our own era.

Through the use of an Orwellian antonym, the government of Burma is officially known as the “State Peace and Development Council”, LINK In truth, Burma, also known as Myanmar, is ruled by a military Junta, who controls the country through the oppression of its people.

The Junta has been accused of perpetual human rights abuses, namely forced labour camps and suppressing democratic reforms. For example, the “State Peace and Development Council” forces scores of citizens, through threats of violence and imprisonment, to toil for a foreign company in the extraction and production of oil. Furthermore, within the Southeast portion of Burma, forced labour is being used to aid in the construction of a large-scale pipeline, which is being constructed by a number of oil corporations from various nations.

Unlike Nineteen Eighty-Four, the situation in Burma is not bound by page numbers. Ending the oppression will take international action beyond the efforts of the United Nations. The international community cannot depend on the UN to issue continual resolutions against the “State Peace and Development Council”. Burma will be reformed through direct intervention. Democracy will be given to the people of Burma through physical pressure, as opposed to constant condemnation.

Dutch bank and two U.S. Banks SWIFT to Skirt Burma Sanctions

2009-02-11T03:21:00.000+06:30

By Jeff Shaw

After the US stengthens its sanctions against Burma, SWIFT, a cooperative of banks with two US banks on its board, admits four Burmese banks, significantly facilitating Burma's ability to trade internationally.

Burmese exile Aung Din fought for democracy in his home country, a nation of 50 million that has been ruled for more than 15 years by a military dictatorship. As vice chair of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, a group declared illegal by the junta, Din helped organized democratic opposition until he was arrested on April 23, 1989. He spent four years in prison doing hard labor at the hands of the regime.

To bring freedom to Burma and its people, Din and others believe, the world community must isolate the military government diplomatically and economically. But now, an international consortium of financial institutions ? including two prominent American banks has begun doing business with banks in Burma, contrary to the wishes of pro-democracy activists and in possible defiance of a new US law.The Belgium-based conglomerate SWIFT has offered four Burmese banks membership in its comprehensive financial network, a move which observers say will dramatically increase Burma's ability to trade internationally. This action may be illegal under US law, activists contend, and will certainly solidify the junta's hold on power. Foreign trade of this nature offers the totalitarian regime an ?economic lifeline, says Din, who left his homeland in 1995 and is now policy director of the US Campaign for Burma.

We spent so much time and energy to get economic sanctions passed in the United States," said Din."This totally undermines our democratic forces, undermines the US sanctions, and undermines pressure from the international community.

The four Burmese banks joining the SWIFT network will be able to transfer funds abroad quickly and efficiently with other members. American financial giants J.P. Morgan-Chase , Citigroup and Dutch ABN-Amro are SWIFT members and representatives from the two US banks serve on SWIFT's 25-member board of directors.

Burma's military government which refers to itself as the State Peace and Development Council, and has re-named the nation "Myanmar" is considered by international human rights groups to be among the most repressive in the world. Among other abuses, the regime uses forced labor and has killed and imprisoned pro-democracy organizers.

After years of work, activists for Burmese democracy successfully pressured the US Congress into passing comprehensive sanctions on the Burmese dictatorship last August. The economic isolation strategy has been working, they say: According to the US Campaign for Burma, the bipartisan American sanctions prevent the regime from earning about $450 million per year.

The group estimates that more than half of this income would be used to fund military buildup. By contrast, less than two percent of the junta's income is allocated to social spending such as education and health care.

They use all this money for weapons, but they don't care about the welfare of the people," said Din."Until the sanctions passed, generals and their cronies got richer and richer, while the people got poorer and poorer."

SWIFT is an industry-owned cooperative group that provides the technology for financial messaging services. The four Burmese banks joining the SWIFT network will be able to transfer funds abroad quickly and efficiently with other members in euro's . American financial giants J.P. Morgan-Chase ,Citigroup and Dutch ABN-Amro are SWIFT members and representatives from the two banks serve on SWIFT's 25-member board of directors.

Admission of the four banks was approved in November, 2003, just months after the US sanctions took effect in August. A bank needs two-thirds of SWIFT's directors to join, but the vote breakdown is confidential. Neither Citigroup nor J.P.Morgan-Chase returned calls seeking comment about how their representatives voted.

Since the SWIFT organization serves over 7,500 financial institutions in 200 countries, this promises to dramatically increase prospects for foreign financial transactions ,and, say human rights activists, to help Burma expeditiously transfer the country's undesirable kyat currency into euros, an easier currency to trade in.

Reached by telephone, a SWIFT spokesperson in Belgium said that no Burmese or European Union laws prohibit this type of arrangement.

SWIFT respects the laws of the countries in which it operates, and there are no applicable laws that prevent SWIFT from doing business with these institutions, he said.

That's just another reason, says Jeremy Woodrum of the US Campaign for Burma, that the sanctions campaign must become more international. While the United States has tough laws against doing business with Burma in place, the EU as yet does not.

We hope the EU will follow suit by passing similar [sanctions] measures," adds Din, "but so far, the EU has failed.

European organizers have also expressed outrage at SWIFT's action. Mark Farmaner of Burma Campaign UK told the Observer newspaper that his group is shocked that such an important financial institution is doing secret deals with one of the most brutal regimes in the world, and that the campaign believes any US directors of SWIFT are in breach of US law and could be prosecuted.

Burma activists in America are more circumspect on the legality issue, saying only that they?ve asked the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control to investigate. Even if the letter of the law hasn't been violated, though, both Woodrum and Din say its spirit has "definitely" been compromised.

SWIFT, according to the spokesman, is a totally apolitical organization, that deals only with financial institutions in countries, not the countries themselves. "SWIFT is sensitive to the position of the various groups that are expressing concerns, but there?s nothing we can do at this time," he said.

Still, activists with the US Campaign for Burma say, actions like this one threaten the economic isolation called for by Burma's democratically-elected government. Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, which the military junta has steadfastly denied power despite a landslide victory in the country's last elections in 1990, consistently urges international sanctions against the junta as a means of nonviolently bringing about a change in governance. Capital flowing into the regime?s coffers merely solidifies its hold on power, say observers like Woodrum and Din, undermining prospects for change.

?We only ask that the international community stay away from the military junta," Din said. "Then, when the military junta recognizes that they have no friends " they will come to the dialogue table."

newstandardnews.net

Burma's policy debate: polarisation and paralysis

2009-02-10T05:08:00.001+06:30

by Benedict Rogers

Burma is one of the world's worst human tragedies. A beautiful nation, with talented people, rich in natural resources, it was once "the rice bowl of Asia". Today, it is one of the poorest countries in the world, ruled by a regime which does not just brutally suppress its people politically, but callously denies them humanitarian aid. The junta spends almost half its budget on the military, and less than $1 per person per year on health and education combined. The world witnessed the regime's astonishing refusal, and subsequent restriction, diversion and manipulation, of aid and access for aid workers following Cyclone Nargis. A similar pattern of criminal neglect is currently played out in Chin State, where a famine caused by a plague of rats has gone largely unreported and unaided.

In addition, the military regime is guilty of every possible violation of human rights. The junta has imprisoned more than 2,000 dissidents, and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has spent over 13 years under house arrest. A campaign of ethnic cleansing, amounting to crimes against humanity and bordering on a form of genocide, is being conducted against the Karen, Karenni and Shan in eastern Burma, and gross violations continue in Chin, Kachin and Rakhine areas. The Rohingya Muslim people are targeted for ethnic and religious persecution, and denied citizenship despite having lived in northern Arakan for generations.

One would think that the scale of the crisis in Burma would cause people, within the country and in the international community, to put aside petty differences and unite. But instead, Burma's tragedy is compounded by the intensely polarised nature of the debate about Burma. This polarisation has led to a paralysis – giving the regime the upper hand. Its biggest strategy is divide-and-rule, and it has played it to great effect at every level. Small divisions between Burmese activists become huge rifts; petty squabbles among factions within each ethnic group have been widened by the regime, in some cases causing groups to fragment and some to do deals with the junta; and among the international community, the debate about sanctions versus engagement grows ever more weary.

It is not for me to comment more on the divisions within the Burmese and ethnic movements, except simply to observe that disunity are a problem. If the different Burmese groups could recognise that what they have in common, their desire for freedom, is infinitely more important than the small policy differences or personal rivalries they may have, then they will be much the stronger for it. If they had one umbrella group, instead of multiple alliances, their cause would be advanced. But it is the international debate that concerns me here.

Critics of sanctions are rearing their heads again in a significant way, and it is tiresome. It seems bizarre that after two of the worst years in Burma's recent history, some people are seriously proposing lifting sanctions. The regime put its character on full display when it beat and shot Buddhist monks peacefully demonstrating in September 2007. Its sham referendum on a new constitution last May was so blatant it was laughable. Its initial response to Cyclone Nargis – a failure to prepare people before the cyclone hit, and a deliberate denial and diversion of aid afterwards – should not be forgotten. And before the end of last year, several hundred dissidents were jailed, some for more than 65 years. Yet there are voices within the UN, NGOs and academia who say now is the time to end international pressure, normalise relations with the regime and legitimise the planned elections in 2010.

Advocates of sanctions such as myself have however not always got it right either. There has been an almost religious affiliation to sanctions, and a refusal to hear criticism. Sanctions have become a litmus test of devotion to democracy. Advocates of sanctions have tended to demonise opponents. I admit that this is wrong. While there are some critics of sanctions who have aligned themselves so much with the junta that they are not credible, there are some who cannot be easily dismissed as pro-regime. Some whose credentials in fighting for democracy are well-proven are starting to question the effectiveness of sanctions. Those of us who continue to believe in sanctions should listen to such people, and seek to find common ground.

I do not buy the argument that sanctions have not worked. It is too simplistic. It depends totally on what our definition of effectiveness is, and what timeframe we are working to. While we can agree on the obvious – that the current sanctions regime have not yet delivered the change we would like to see – there are several points to make. The first is that many of the sanctions in place are the wrong ones. I have always advocated targeted sanctions, aimed at the Generals and their assets. But it is only in the past year that the US has introduced targeted financial sanctions, and the European Union placed a ban on the gems and timber sectors. Until 2007, the sanctions in place were either too broad, or too symbolic. The EU banned investment in a pineapple juice factory, but continues to allow money to flow into the oil and gas sectors. But the junta is built on oil and gas, not fruit juice. And critics claim we have had 20 years of sanctions – but in reality, the only really tough sanctions were introduced in the past ten years, and particularly since 2003. So they need more time to work. Thirdly, sanctions are only one tool in the toolbox anyway. No advocate of sanctions that I know has ever suggested that sanctions alone will change the situation. They are an important ingredient in the policy mix – but they need to be used alongside other methods.

Two myths about the pro-sanctions lobby continue to be put about the critics, both of which are misrepresentative and deeply destructive. The first is that they frame the debate as one of engagement versus isolation, and they describe themselves as 'pro-engagement'. But this is totally misleading. I am pro-engagement too. The objective is not the isolate the regime, but rather to draw it out and force it to enter dialogue. Pressure is the only language the regime understands. The idea that investment will open things up is not only naïve, it has been tried. Britain held trade fairs in Rangoon in the 1990s, and that did not seem to make the regime any nicer. No one I know wants to isolate the regime, and it is pro-sanctions campaigners who have led calls for the UN Secretary-General and Security Council to get involved, and the process recommended is all about engagement. So it is not a debate about whether to engage, but rather about what type of engagement – how, when, about what and with whom should we engage.

The second myth is that we oppose aid. This is manifest nonsense, but it continues to be put about. No one campaigned harder for increased aid to Burma by Britain's Department for International Development (DfID) than my own organisation, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, and the Burma Campaign UK. Our efforts resulted in pressure on DfID by the House of Commons to increase its Burma budget. It was DfID officials, backed up by so-called pro-engagement types, who actually resisted it. They did not want to increase the Burma budget. Ultimately, DfID responded to political pressure and doubled the budget. We campaigned both for in-country aid and cross-border aid to the displaced people. So please, don't tell me I am anti-aid. Like engagement, the debate is not about whether to provide aid, but how.

If the critics of sanctions agree to stop spreading such misperceptions, and advocates of sanctions cease demonising their opponents, there are still three remaining questions. Some of the most naïve critics of sanctions propose actually lifting them now, regardless of whether the regime offers any sign of progress. They portray themselves as bold fresh thinkers, but such an approach is sheer folly. To lift sanctions now, unconditionally, would send the regime the worst possible signal. The regime will have won, and they can have their rule – and their legitimacy internationally – sewn up. So I am vigorously opposed to such an approach. But more sensible critics of sanctions argue we should review specific measures, and question their effectiveness. I have an open mind on this. While I am totally opposed to lifting sanctions as a whole, there is merit in looking at each measure and asking how they could be improved. A debate about improving, sharpening, strengthening and more carefully targeting sanctions would be healthy. We might even find some areas of agreement between the two sides in the polarised debate. But we should ensure that such a debate is not timeless. A debate, within a specific timeframe, about how to sharpen sanctions must lead to an outcome. It should not result in a continuation of the current exhausting, pointless and endless debate that achieves nothing except further entrenchment and polarisation. And once the debate has been had, the issue should be parked and we should seek other creative means of bringing about change in Burma in addition to sanctions. Critics of sanctions should agree to stop dredging the issue up again and again, and advocates of sanctions might agree – provided we succeed in obtaining sharper, targeted, effective measures in place – to channel their energies into seeking other solutions. In fact, that is what sanctions advocates have already been doing, but their critics keep popping up with the sanctions debate. It is becoming an unhealthy distraction and consumes far too much emotional energy.

It will not be easy, but both sides in this debate need to move out of their respective camps. If we cannot engage with each other, how are we to have a hope of seeing the regime engage? There are voices on the fringes of both camps who deserve little respect and should be ignored. There are some with vested interests or outdated experience who are now irrelevant. But there are others who may disagree over certain approaches, but who should be treated more seriously. Common ground should be sought, and perhaps a division of labour agreed. There are individuals who have a particular role to play in, for example, quiet diplomacy with Asian neighbours, strengthening ethnic unity or building civil society, and they should not be written off. However, they do themselves no favours when they spend their time undermining the efforts of campaigners by vocally and publicly opposing not only sanctions, but any form of international pressure in defeatist tones. If such people were to focus on what they are good at, and keep their reservations about international pressure to themselves, they would earn much more respect. Similarly, if those of us who advocate pressure recognised more explicitly the value of other approaches, particularly in building civil society, strengthening ethnic unity and in lobbying countries in the region, we would advance the cause further.

There is in my mind no contradiction at all between pressure and engagement. If properly coordinated, they are two sides of the same coin. This was outlined in a paper published by The Burma Campaign UK a few years ago, called "Pro-Aid, Pro-Sanctions, Pro-Engagement". Our critics should read that paper, we should seek to understand our more sensible critics, and together we can try to break the paralysis that has come from the polarisation of the debate. Only when we combine our efforts, diverse but coordinated and complementary, will we have any chance of seeing change in Burma.

Benedict Rogers is a human rights activist working for Christian Solidarity Worldwide, which recently launched the Change for Burma! campaign. He is the author of 'A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma's Karen people (Monarch Books, 2004). He has travelled 28 times to Burma and its borderlands, and is currently writing two new books on Burma.

mizzima

"A Canadian Call for Peace"

2009-02-07T21:12:00.001+06:30

By Kirk Duffin

An ethnic group, comprising of Buddhist Animists and Christians, live in the eastern region of a nation often forgotten about in state buildings and parliamentary offices. This ethnic minority does not aim to annex land for geo-political purposes. Nor does it yearn to seize foreign capitals and force its cultural norms upon the enslaved masses. It is an ethnic group that wants to live in peace, guided by the democratic process – free from state sponsored genocide.

The ethnic minority is the Karen and the forgotten nation is Burma – which is controlled by a military Junta known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

The Karen people, consisting of peasant farmers, find solace in the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) - a joint organization operating to secure an autonomous and democratic Karen State. From a secluded military base, the KNU and KNLA clash with the tatmandaw, the SPDC military, who enter the region to suppress the opposition towards the junta and to ensure it remains the sole authority within the nation.

In a recent report, Amnesty International (AI) concluded the tatmandaw, by orders of the SPDC, has undertaken an offensive directed towards eradicating the Karen people, along with Karen national Union and the Karen National Liberation Army – which the SPDC feels is one single group. In truth, the Karen people, albeit approving of the KNU and KNLA, are not involved in military action. Nonetheless, accounts have revealed the SPDC and the tatmandaw have utilized methods against Karen farmers, of which are deemed illegal via international law – amounting to crimes against humanity. For example, as reported by AI, a father and son, with no involvement in military action, were murdered – hands and leg missing.

It is imperative the SPDC is held accountable for its crimes against the whole of humanity. As free citizens, we can no longer consent to genocide through inaction or indifference. We can free the Karen people. Within international law, a clause exist that allows a sovereign nation the ability to claim jurisdiction over an individual warranting the infraction is considered to be an offence against the global community as a whole.

As a whole, we represent a body that, through a social contract, provides a government with its legitimacy. We are a sovereign nation, you and I.

Through national action, with each citizen contributing a single cent, we could generate three-hundred thousand dollars, creating a fund that will allow us to develop a legal case against the government of Burma. What is a single cent worth? A penny can be found in a drawer of forgotten photos and grade school projects. Through a single cent, we as a collective nation could depose of a government that fears freedom and provide democracy to a people born as free as you I.

Through a single cent, we can provide the Karen people with the feeling we feel in our streets and in our words – freedom.

Abuses Committed by the Tatmadaw (Burmese Army)

2009-02-06T01:13:00.003+06:30

The Burma Army arrested me. They tortured me and put me in jail for one week. They beat me on my head and ears-I still have a hearing problem. Then the army forced me to work at road construction and repair the army camp. I spent one month in the army camp. I cut bamboo, carried it on my shoulder. Then the army forced me to sign a pledge saying that if I provided the CNF with food or assistance again I would be arrested and put in jail.

-Chin man who fled Burma in 2004, now living in India [55]
We are all cultivators and agriculturists. We have to work daily for our food. But half the time we are forced to go and do labor for the army. It came to such a point that we had nothing to eat even though we were working night and day. My family of three decided to leave and migrate to Mizoram.
-Chin man who fled Burma in 2005, now living in India [56]
In my village [in Chin State] there are only 60 households left. All the others have fled. There was a time when we had about 400 households. No one can live there because of these activities of the army. There are no more young people left…People are so poor now that none of us ever has a proper meal. We mostly have to live on watery gruel.

-Chin woman from Matupi township, Chin State, Burma [57]
Restrictions on fundamental freedoms, forced labor, torture, arbitrary arrests, unlawful and prolonged detention, and attacks on religious freedom are just some of the abuses perpetrated by the Tatmadaw in Chin State. Many Chin described to Human Rights Watch the arbitrary and abusive behavior of Tatmadaw soldiers, and villagers' fear of them. The Tatmadaw control many aspects of Chin people's lives, from curtailing their freedom of movement to restricting their ability to grow food and cultivate their land without being interrupted by forced labor or coerced to plant certain crops. A Chin pastor who left Burma in February 2005 and is now living in New Delhi told Human Rights Watch, "When we meet the army we are shaking. There's no law for them. Whatever they want is law."[58]

Extrajudicial Killings
Extrajudicial killings by the Tatmadaw in Chin State often occur in conjunction with other human rights abuses, such as arrest, torture, or forced labor. The Tatmadaw particularly target village headmen and those suspected of having contact with ethnic opposition groups, such as the Chin National Front (CNF) or its armed branch, the Chin National Army (CNA), for extrajudicial killings.
One Chin pastor reported on an incident in 2006 in Falam township. He told Human Rights Watch:

The SPDC was searching for the CNA throughout the entire township. They beat the local village council headman and shot him dead.[59]
According to the Chin Human Rights Organization, in a similar incident in March 2007, the SPDC executed three village headmen in Matupi township, after accusing them of failing to report the presence of CNA and providing support to the CNA.[60]
The Chin Human Rights Organization has documented 16 extrajudicial killings, including four children, perpetrated by the Tatmadaw and police in Chin State between 2005 and 2007.[61] None of the perpetrators in these cases have been brought to justice.

The right to life is considered a non-derogable norm under customary international law, binding on all states without exception. The right to life is protected under article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which states "every human being has the inherent right to life...No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life."[62] The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which Burma has ratified, also protects the right to life.[63] Despite this, the SPDC is responsible for committing extrajudicial killings in Burma.

Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, and Torture
The SPDC regularly arrests and imprisons members of the Chin community, including children, to stifle political dissent, intimidate and oppress ethnic villagers, and restrict basic freedoms. To justify arrests, the SPDC largely relies on overly vague and broadly interpreted laws, some of which are remnants from the British colonial era.[64] In accordance with these laws, anyone suspected of posing a threat or opposition to the military government may be arrested and imprisoned. (Arrests of those on religious grounds are covered separately below, under "Religious Repression.")
When interrogating detainees, security forces use torture to extract information and to punish, intimidate, and degrade anyone perceived as a potential threat to the military government. Political prisoners and supporters of armed opposition groups, such as the Chin National Front (CNF) and the Chin National Army (CNA), are particularly vulnerable to torture by security forces.
S.H.T. told Human Rights Watch how he was just 16-years-old when police arrested, tortured, and detained him for three days in 2000, accusing him of being affiliated with the CNA even though he never had any contact with the CNA or other opposition groups.[65] He said:
[The police] beat me with a stick and they used the butt of their guns. They hit me in my mouth and broke my front teeth. They split my head open and I was bleeding badly. Repeatedly, they hit me in my back with their guns. Because of this, my back is still injured and I have trouble lifting heavy objects. They also shocked me with electricity. They had a battery and they attached some clips to my chest. They would turn the electricity on and when I couldn't control my body any longer, they switched the battery off. They kept doing this for several hours. They did the same thing to the pastor's son. They told me they would only stop beating us until we told them information about the CNA. We kept telling them we didn't know anything.

Forced Recruitment and Attacks on Village Council Members
Village council members and the village council headman or president are responsible for the management of village affairs. The headman is selected by the council members or, in some areas, appointed by the SPDC or military commander in the area. The SPDC pressures members of the village council to oversee the implementation of SPDC orders. Village headmen, in particular, are required to produce villagers for forced labor and militia training, arrange food for soldiers patrolling through the village, and supply information to the government and army about the movements of armed ethnic groups in their area. Headmen who fail in any of these tasks, especially those suspected of helping ethnic opposition groups, are subjected to detention, interrogation, beatings, and torture by the SPDC.[

Conditions in Detention

Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD Respond;

2009-02-06T00:53:00.002+06:30

By Myo Thein (Director of the Burma Democratic Concerns)

It is no surprise Aung San Suu Kyi is standing her ground in spite of her sacrifice and wrongful imprisonment.
Here is the latest updated information regarding Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi and five central executive committee (CEC) members of National League for Democracy (NLD) met with the visiting UN envoy on February 2, 2009 and demand the United Nations-
• to put more pressure on the military regime to release all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi immediately and unconditionally
• to review on the constitution which is designed to legitimize military rule in Burma and adopted unilaterally in 2008
• to recognize the 1990 election result in which Aung San Suu Kyi's party won landslide victory
• to allow to convene the people's parliament based on 1990 election result
These would be the minimum terms, which needed to be fulfilled before they could have a dialogue with the Burmese military rulers, they reaffirmed.

Best regards,

Myo Thein
Director
Burma Democratic Concern
2nd Floor
145-157,
St John Street,
EC1V 4PY
London
United Kingdom

Gambari and the UN Impotent

2009-02-04T19:44:00.002+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

As predicted, Ibrahim Gambari has come up empty with regard to Democracy in Burma. Crimes against humanity, false imprisonment, torture and death will continue in Burma. The United Nations will write up another empty resolution. More Karen, Rohingya and other tribal people will continue to be murdered by government troops while the exodus of humanity struggles to find sanctuary in neighboring countries. Slave labor and child soldiers will continue to fill the ranks of Than Shwe’s criminal regime and the prisons will lay to waste the brilliant young minds of a nation.

On the other hand Burma’s duly elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her cabinet stand courageous and strong in the fact of all adversity. Unwavering, the National League for Democracy maintained their position as the true leadership of Burma. The world, guilty of complacency and impotency, looks on and ignores the cries of a nation in bondage. Aung San Suu Kyi’s world wide request not to barter, finance or validate the criminal regime of Than Shwe holds firm and with more determination than ever. Aung San Suu Kyi truly is the radiant light of Burma who refuses to be extinguished

Burma’s military, divided and suspicious of one another silently awaits Than Shwes impending death for it is only a matter of time. Loyalty has long since been replaced by fear in keeping order within its ranks. The recent Constitutional Referendum was nothing more than an exercise in ballot fraud and intimidation. The document was as worthless as the paper it was written on and the pending 2010 election will be equally as worthless. Sadly these elections were only designed to “Show Face” and legitimize this criminal and illegal government to take the heat off international corporations invested in Burma.

International corporations have become partners in the holocaust of Burma. It was learned they enjoyed cheap and affordable slave labor to build pipelines, facilities and a host of other laborious tasks. In spite of sanctions imposed on Burma, members of the World Trade Organization including European, North American and Asian corporations flourish and fill the coffers of Than Shwe. The corporate bottom line has become the marching orders where the cause of humanity once stood. Material wealth and greed has become the axiom as the free world continues to profiteer at the expense of human suffering in Burma’s Gulag System.

Sadly, Burma is the end result of globalization and the international corporate scam to reap natural resources at the expense of indigenous people. By ignoring Burma as well as the plight in Africa and South America the population of the world gave the green light to international financial terrorists to enslave a planet. The weapon of choice has become the Euro or Dollar as the world faces an economical disaster. Indonesia claiming to be a democratic society has decided to follow in Than Shwe’s foot steps by waving the tenets of the Press Law and seek persecution of Upi Asmaradhana for voicing a difference of opinion from Indonesian Inspector General Sisno. Sisno’s response to Upi’s article was to sidestep freedom of the press and file criminal defamation charges rather than civil charges according to the Alliance of Independent Journalists. This was clearly an abuse of authority that is a reflective of Than Shwe’s manipulation of his criminally corrupt system.

With checks and balances not enforced, nations around the world will follow since wholesale murder has become a non-issue and the will of the people has become meaningless. Humanity has become the pariah of globalization as more and more nations ignore their constitution and their people respectively. Politicians have side stepped legality and morality for vested interests and the whims of corporations, again this is reflective of Dictator Than Shwe and his corrupt regime. The longer we sit by and watch Burma slip further and further into darkness, the harder it will be for us to recognize tyranny. Then one day we will look around and discover we are in the same predicament fore we will have forgotten what democracy was.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Karen in Texas

2009-02-03T04:23:00.003+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

MINGALABA!

Assimilation to the American way of life may be a fearful undertaking for refugees coming out of refugee centers in Thailand. The very idea they are traveling thousands of miles away from their beloved homeland is a stark reality, there is no question. Since the world has not responded to the plight of the Karen and other tribal people of Burma they are forced to seek asylum in other nations before they are taken as slaves, raped or murdered. They have no other options. The propaganda machine of Than Shwe continues to spread lies and rumors in an effort to quell the mass exodus of witnesses to his atrocities.

I interviewed many Karen and other tribal people who’ve managed to make the journey to America. In the beginning they were very fearful of this strange new land called America. They heard a multitude of rumors about this crazy wild place called America. Streetlights, bustling roadways and a completely different way of life await those who come to the United States. It’s quite a contrast to the jungle and the refugee centers along the Thai/Burma border.

One woman I met when she first arrived was very scared and told me she should have waited by a tree and let the Burmese soldiers kill her and finish her suffering. Months later she was loading up her family and going to a Karen church for services and helping other refugees assimilate to this strange new land. Fact is, we prepared a banquet for other refugees who were arriving almost daily from Thailand. Their fear turned to joy as these beautiful people of the jungle discovered they were not alone. They also discovered their culture was still alive in America and their countrymen were here to greet them.

(Photo:Karen at the Galleria Mall in Dallas Texas. The man in black just arrivedfrom a refugee camp on the Thai Border)

With fellow refugees already assimilated to the American way of life new comers are not alone by any means. There is a welcome wagon and people waiting to greet their countrymen. They are as eager to hear the gossip from back in the refugee camps as the new arrivals are curious. Don’t toss your longyi since this still the dress of choice for many refugees and political exiles. Gads, I need an extra large one to fit my butt eh. The smell of shrimp paste still fills the air as families prepare traditional meals and there are plenty of Asian Markets you can find with familiar foods from Burma. I’ve attended Karen functions, celebrations and danced many tribal dances. So it is clear the Karen are not lost or forgotten since their culture flourishes in this strange new land. If they come to Dallas Texas they will find me with my Karen friends and most likely singing or dancing tribal dances. I’ll be the 900 pound gorilla in a longyi surrounded by smiling and laughing children from the jungles of Burma.

(Photo:Karen at the Calvary Church in Irving Texas)

I’ve taken a personal interest in the plight of these people since it is a reflection of the struggle my people faced not 100 years ago. My friends range from jungle people to heroes of Democracy (NLD) that survived torture in Insein Prison and I am honored to be in their company. I’m a survivor and so are these beautiful people from Burma.

Kaba Ma Kyay Bu!

Your Devil’s Advocate

Supporters of Genocide

2009-02-03T04:03:00.003+06:30

16 slaughtered Shan villagers from Ho Yan Village, Khun Hing District

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

From the folks at Burma Campaign UK comes a list of businesses from around the world who are working with the Dictator Than Shwe of Burma. In essence these companies are supporting genocide as the Burmese government murders and silence everyone who stands in the way of “progress”. The list of human rights violations staggers the imagination for the cruelty and barbarism this nation has bestowed on innocent people. The blatant disregard for human life was all too apparent after Cyclone Nargis as hundreds of thousands of people died and others were forced to live in squalor.

Humanitarians who volunteered to bury the dead were placed in prisons others who assisted their people were tossed in jail as well. Tortured in Burma’s chamber of horrors has become a staple for those who offered to help. We can’t forget the volenteers from around the world who were beaten by soliders. The survivors of Nargis were ear market for death but many still survived living on fetid water and rancid rotting animals. Human remains still decorate the Burmese landscape as bones of the victims of Nargis are discovered.

Daring to speak out for freedom and democracy thousands of Burmese citizens are being gathered in secrecy and placed in prisons across Burma. Known celebrities of all kinds are being placed in prisons deep in Burma’s jungles so no on can hear their screams and brutal torture. The blood of a nation in peril is on the hands of the companies listed below for they are part and parcel partners in crime and genocide. It is suggested we write the companies who reside with the countries we live in and let them know you are aware of their participation in death.

I believe we-the-people of the world have the power to defeat all adversaries to humanity since we have the power. No matter how big a corporation is, since it’s all about the money, they have an Achilles Tendon. With all the power and corrupt influence these corporations have around the world they are powerless if we stop buying their goods. By hunkering down and simply stop buying their stuff we will have torpedoed them right where it hurts, their cash flow. I’ve noticed companies on this list who are also involved in South American and Africa with similar results. Human beings suffer in the path of so called progress as country after country is stripped of their natural resources, all for the corporate bottom dollar. It’s called Globalization and Burma is a victim of greed as corporations vey to glean a handsome profit by working with Than Shwe.

We should not buy from these firms in any event since all their wares are tainted with bad medicine anyway. Something made from slave labor, like in the case of China, is cursed and would only bring sorrow. Same holds true for goods stolen from the Burmese people by thugs like Than Shwe and these companies who work with the Devil. US shelves are littered with products made by slaves and sorrow. It’s a small wonder economies of the world are going under, we cursed ourselves with these tainted products. Made in China should read, Made by Human Suffering for their lucrative Gulag industry. And to think we looked to China for stabilization of the region. It’s not surprising to find China with the most investments in Burma.

Here is a sampleing of companies from around the world who are in partnership with death and human suffering. The list is a long one and very shocking to note all the nations involved. Switzerland, Denmark and the USA are sad examples of the investors in tyranny.

Link to complete list and it’s a shocker who all is involved;

Hillary Shuns Burma

2009-02-03T03:56:00.002+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Dismay and shock are the only way to describe how the political exiles and refugees from Burma felt whence Hillary made her dubious speech as a new Secretary of State. The reality of Hillary and Bill Clinton has become obvious to the Burmese community as Hillary deliberately side stepped the issue of Burma. Only under her breath did she mention Aung San Suu Kyi and it became all too apparent she was pandering to China, Bill Clinton’s cash cow.

Since the day President Bill Clinton gave China Favored Nation Status the Clinton’s were in the pocket of China as well as other tyrannical third world countries. The Clintons and the Bush’s have been involved with the Barrick Gold Company of Canada for decades and at the expense of the citizens of the nations Barrick and their private army encroached on. Barrick has been notorious for lining the pockets of dictators in an effort to glean the yellow metal. Barrick bought influence with the BLM to glean gold from the Western Shoshone of Nevada leaving the tribe with little recourse. The selection of Hillary as Secretary of State sent an ominous message to the struggling people of not only Africa but the America’s. Now the people of Burma the feel betrayal the Clintons are infamous for. There will be no help from Hillary for she is in the pocket of China and their ruthless campaign of terror and slave labor camps filled with innocent people such as members of the Falon Gong. China’s cottage industry of slave labor and death has been mimicked by Than Shwe of Burma and his weapons of destruction come from China with blessings. The Clinton’s are only loyal to the corporate bottom line, the fabled One World Order and Globalization.

Surely you remember the Falon Gong organization. China’s slave labor camps have a burgeoning population of approximately 80 million people, 50 million of which are Falon Gong members. Subjected to torture, rape and murder healthy prisoners are also used for organ harvesting in China’s ghoulish human body parts industry. And they have the blessing of the Clinton’s, part and parcel. Sadly US shelves are filled with goods manufactured by slave labor and the blood of Chinese citizens. This is the competitive edge China basks in as a favored nation, thanks to the Clinton’s. In all probability Bill Clinton’s donations list reads like a who’s who in human rights violations and it’s a sure bet the Clintons are invested in tyranny in Asia.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Rohingya, The Forgotten People

2009-01-31T23:42:00.005+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Though the Rohingya people have been suffering for many years it took the disclosure of their most recent plight to gain international attention. For years the Rohingya have suffered from not only Than Shwe’s atrocities but also from neighboring countries such as Bangladesh. The no-mans-land where the Bengali government did not allow assistance of any kind was a clear human rights violation yet the world said nothing. I’ve reviewed reel after reel of news reports that never made the hit parade.

Imagine surviving on weeds and scraps found on the ground to survive. Rape and death followed these beleaguered people into Bangladesh as they fled death in their homeland. I’m still pissed off at those boneheads from Denmark and Norway, (Danish Minister Ulla Toreas, Norwegian Minister Erik Solheim), for their blatant disregard of Aung San Suu Kyi’s request not to validate Than Shwe’s band of thugs. Apparently her sacrifice and imprisonment was of no concern to this dorks. But they now have some cool stuff to tell their friends back home at one of their socials. Maybe they should have been placed in one of the refugee centers along the Bengali/Burma border and dined on rats and weeds with the Rohingya. That would have been too distasteful and inconvenient. After all, they did manage to overlook the Karen who was being murders while they were in Burma. They also managed to overlook the mass arrests being conducted during their visitation as well. Apparently the rape of 5 year old children, the use of slave labor and child soldiers was acceptable.

The spineless United Nations wrote extensive reports about hunger in Burma as if it was a news flash. People were already starving long before Cyclone Nargis struck the region. More paper, more old news and more non action are all the UN and the world offer. Obviously the Rohingya and their concerns were absent in the reams of reports. If it were not for the discovery of refugee’s cast out to sea to die, Thailand’s atrocities aimed against the Rohingya and other refugees would have gone unnoticed. How many other refugees have been towed out to sea by Thailand and other Asian countries? And to think these humble people were seeking sanctuary from the criminal regime of Burma.

Bangladesh policies towards the Rohingya were more like “Isolate and let die” as troops guarded makeshift camps of the Rohingya. Is it because they are not Buddhist, Hindu or Christian and follow Islam as their course of spirituality? Or is it because of the color of their skin? What ever the reason, these human beings are being subjugated and forced to live in absolute squalor and filth since Bengali policy disallows assistance in refugee centers for the most part. The beating of these impoverished people by Bengali authorities is common if it is discovered they spoke to journalists.

The notion any religion would exercise distain for another is absolutely ludicrous and a contradiction to the core tenets of any faith anyway. Only after man’s addition to the faiths of the world did ego, material gain and death become an excepted practice fore religion was meant to enhance life not restrict it. Religious reasons to persecute and murder people of other faiths are not the will of the Creator no matter what faith one follows. Rivalries of any kind are exercises in ego and pettiness. For any religion to purport that the Creator condones or is a party to this conduct is a blatant lie. The Creator is a perfect being and does not have the attributes or failings of the human being. A perfect being does not have hate, jealousy, anger or revenge, it is that simple. There is no such thing as a Holy War and when nations use this axiom to kill others from different faiths they are not following the true tenets of their faith.

In essence we are living in a G*dless society where man misinterprets and misrepresents the core tenets of their respective faiths. The reason is very rudimentary fore it is purely for material gain and ego. Clearly this was not the intention of the children of Abraham, Buda or other sacred teachers. And it is the innocent people such as the Rohingya who suffer in the wake of pettiness, ego and the quest for material gain. Small wonder we are poised to face disasters of a magnitude that will plunge mankind back into the Stone Age. And I welcome this coming fore life on Earth has truly become our hell.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Buffalohair

The war criminal (Ibrahim Gambari) was elevated by the United Nations, to the position of UN special envoy to Burma

2009-01-31T00:43:00.002+06:30

By Ashin Mettacara

Why the United Nations could not do anything for Burma?

I looked into the various sources on Mr. Gambari after failing to meet detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Mr. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari was a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Georgetown University and Howard University. Later, he became Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations in 1990. Mr. Gambari is an intelligent man, but he use his intelligence to defend a notorious Nigerian military leader, Sani Abacha. Sani Abacha is like a Burma military leader, Than Shwe who has continued the suppression of the free press , and has overseen the detention of journalists and peaceful protesters who oppose his regime. In 1995, Sani Abacha’s regime executed Ken Saro Wiwa by hanging. Ken Saro Wiwa was an author, environmentalist and Ogoni leader who led a peaceful demonstration. Although the trial was widely criticized by human rights organizations, but UN Representative, Mr. Gambari told the CNN, Abacha had not committed any offence and labeled Ken Saro Wiwa as “a common criminal”. And he defended the military regime and said “ Nigeria don’t need democracy because democracy is not food. It is not a priority now”. Is it a remarkable word from the United Nations? After the demise of Abacha, his soccer teams were charged with murder and corruption. Mr. Gambari was also 1st eleven players of Abacha’s soccer team, but he was not listed because UN general secretary , Mr. Kofi Anna elevated him by giving the position of Under-Secretary and Special Adviser on Africa at the UN. Gambari should be made to face trial because of his roles in the Ogoni affliction and mass murders. Instead he has been elevated to the post of UN special envoy to Burma.

Reference sources:

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL17190258 http://www.onlinenigeria.com/articles/ad.asp?blurb=85 http://www.afriquenligne.fr/news/africa-news/nigeria:-govt-may-remove-key-obstacle-to-niger-delta-talks-200807078386.html http://www.oyibosonline.com/cgi-bin/newsscript.pl?record=3891 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sani_Abacha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Saro-Wiwa

(ashinmettacara.org)

Soldiers of Humanity, Free Burma Rangers

2009-01-30T01:46:00.001+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

While the government of Burma frantically tried to arrest and convict anyone who opposes the Dictator Than Shwe, the Free Burma Rangers are in the Jungles saving lives. There is no secret Burma’s government is placing people in bondage for speaking out against a criminal regime. Young and brilliant minds are being thrown away for the rest of their lives. Popular artists and entertainers as well as religious figures and intellectuals are being targeted as the criminal regime of Than Shwe tightens its grip on a dying nation.

Deep within the jungle government forces have accelerated their program of eugenics and the wholesale murder and rape of tribal people. The Karen, Mon, Arakan and other tribal people of Burma have been ear marked for slave labor or death if they don’t comply. Nothing has changed since before the time of Cyclone Nargis. Than Shwe’s hatred for tribal people and his lusting for natural resources has only gotten worse. Burma’s future has become a journey into Dante’s Inferno as the cries of the hopeless echo into the night. Hopelessness, fear and despair reigns in the hearts of hundreds of thousands of Internally Displaced People. In fear for their lives and hiding deep within the jungles IDP’s hold their breath as government troops sweep the area for stragglers. Wounded and dying villagers struggle to mend the wounds with no medical supplies. With a government hunting them down like animals and a world powerless to help, their future looks bleak at best.

Hiding deep in the jungles scouts rush back to enclaves refugees carved in the foliage to report approaching troops. Fearful of the death and torture that awaits them; they hold their breath and pray for a miracle. As the troops advance to the refugee’s position, a feeling of helplessness envelopes the refugees for their fate rests in the hands of the Creator. Then when all hope seems lost one of the villagers notice these troops are not government forces at all. The noticeable badge on their uniforms read the unmistakable logo, “Free Burma Rangers”, Free Burma’s Soldiers of Humanity.

Risking life and limb in a land the world has forsaken the Free Burma Rangers press onward offering humanitarian assistance, healing the sick/wounded and feeding the poor. They are also witnesses to the holocaust that has engulfed Burma. Their news briefs and photos come from deep in the jungle in spite of Than Shwe’s clamp down on freedom of the press. And I’m proud to be associated with this merry band of courageous human beings called The Free Burma Rangers.

Learn more about these Champions of Humanity;

http://www.freeburmarangers.org/

Your Devil’s Advocate

Buffalohair

Burma’s Counter Offensive

2009-01-30T01:43:00.001+06:30

By Carlos(Buffalohair) Guevara

With yet another bogus election planed in 2010 the Burmese people face yet more torment as a criminal and illegal regime paints a false face of democracy. Than Shwe and his band of criminals from both Burma and abroad are trying to make the world think the people of Burma want this election. The fact remains the duly elected leader of Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly stated these elections are not the will of the people and must be boycotted as all costs. Aung San Suu Kyi is being held in bondage as of this writing by the criminal Than Shwe.

In an effort to have a positive election next year Than Shwe has begun a systematic process of secret arrests and convictions of everyone who opposes his regime. From award winning laureates, entertainers, educators, students and people from all tribes within Burma are being taken to secret jungle prisons. Torture and rape of women are the main stay of this criminal regime. Teenagers are being tortured and placed in jail for 60 or more years for simply being at a pro democracy rally. Some people are being killed secretly while telling the families they died of natural causes.

The people of Burma oppose this election but their voices are silenced or they face the same consequences as those who’ve voiced their opinions. Only from clandestine messages from within Burma is the truth coming out. Refugees tell a much grimmer tale of death and survival at the hands of this criminal regime. Men women and children are being tortured and beaten while in prison for their opinion and having the courage to speak. And this is happening right now.

In an effort to educate the world about the true state of affairs within Burma the organizations around the world are launching a counter offensive in an effort to educate the world about their plight. Burma Democratic Concerns UK is asking for your help. Actors, singers and anyone who can produce videos and Pod-casts are needed for this world wide assault on tyranny. It is advisable that anyone interested contact Myo Thein at Burma Democratic Concerns so we can coordinate this concerted effort to save a Nation.

People from all countries are invited to join the growing numbers of human beings who want to make a difference and participate in this world wide effort. Contact them today and learn how you can make a difference. With a coordinated effort you will not only help in swaying the politics of the world but you will also let the people of Burma know the world has not forgotten them.

Free Burma, Free Aung San Suu Kyi

Your Devil’s Advocate

Buffalohair

In the Spirit of Aung San (Bogyoke)

2009-01-30T01:40:00.000+06:30

by Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

Khut Daung, the Fighting Peacock, has awakened and the spirit of Burma’s national hero Aung San has returned to help his nation. With courage and determination Burmese people are standing defiant against Than Shwe and his criminal regime. Their call to arms, “Ma Hote Ma Khan Taw Lhan” is echoing even in the darkest of prisons. There is no army that can stop them for Bogyoke is alive in their hearts and Burma will rise once again. Than Shwe’s response has always been to arrest and murder all who oppose him but the numbers keep on growing. He can no longer repress the millions who have nothing left to loose. He is filling his prisons with innocent people turning them into martyrs in the people’s eye. They are heroes of Democracy filled with the spirit of Bogyoke, something torture only fortifies within their souls.

Than Shwe will die soon and he will leave his family with a legacy of death and dishonor. Sadly they will pay the price for Than’s indulgence, campaign of greed and unspeakable horror. They will live in the shadow of his ghoulish reign. The clock is ticking and everyday Than Shwe grows older and weak while just around the corner within his ranks dissention lays in waiting. When Than Shwe dies the rules will change and those who lived in opulence will live in exile and fear of the retribution that awaits them. Than Shwe will die this year and he will not see the elections come to pass in 2010 but his family will inherit his legacy.

Wretched are those who’ve enriched themselves from the blood of Burma. Wretched are those who’ve ignored the pleas of the people of Burma and wretched are those who financed Than Shwe’s criminal regime. It is rumored his closest allies despises him and it is rumored he is a man alone among his cadre. His fate is cast in stone and there is no turning back the clock fore Than Shwe must face his destiny. Maybe it will be from disease or possibly from a lethal dose of medication or possibly from a general’s knife but one thing is for sure, Than Shwe will die this year. His legacy of death will come to a close and history will remember Than Shwe, the cancer of Burma.

There will be no celebration whence Than Shwe passes, only silent reflection as a nation mends its wounds. His coconspirators will be hunted down and held for trial only to face those they once oppressed. The cycle of greed and absolute corruption will have come to pass fore nothing lasts forever. The criminals who’ve financed Than Shwe’s war on his own people will be reveled. They will face a similar fate and they will live in infamy. Justice would be better served if they were placed in the very prisons Than Shwe once reserved for those who breathed democracy. Justice Will Be Served.

Long live the spirit of Bogyoke!

Ma Hote Ma Khan Taw Lhan!

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair

Humanities Corporate Impasse

2009-01-29T01:33:00.002+06:30

The actual price for free trade.
Ms. Chen Xingtao was sent to Bamalong Female Slave Labor Camp, China for practicing Dafa. She was subject to torture as well as forced to work until she was paralyzed from the barbaric torture inflicted by guards. She died from her injuries.

By Carlos (Buffalohair)Guevara

Imagine waking up one morning to discover a group of men raping your wife and daughter. Then as you pan this horrific scene you notice your sons disemboweled and decapitated body lying in a pool of blood. His body still in the throws of death as it contorts in an autonomic dance of death. As if the ghoulish scene were not enough you discover your sons head mounted on a stake with his eyes gouged out and the rest of his face totally disfigured.

Reeling from this macabre scene of brutality you watch in total horror as these men begin to dissect your screaming family members. With bayonets drawn they plunge their knives deep into your once lovely daughter while another man begins to hack her head off. You listen as her screams become garbled as blood drowns her pleas. Your wife suffers a similar fate as these men crush her skull with the butts of their rifles. And all the while, these minions of hate laugh and joke as the lives of your loved ones fad from existence.

Undetected and fearing for your own mortality you escape into the jungle as the sound of gun fire resonates behind you. Bullets cut through the brush all around you as you struggle to find safety. With your heart racing as you run for your life you stumble over a mutilated torso and fall to the ground. Struggling to your feet you trip on a skull, it is your elderly mothers. Overwhelmed you keep on running as bullets keep screaming past you. The smell of death abounds as you make your way through an ocean of blood and dismembered body parts. Eventually you find safety and the remnants of your fellow villagers. You begin to reflect on the surreal scene of untold horror you had just witnessed. Then reality sets in as you recall the brutal deaths of your loved ones. You cry a deep and mournful cry as you ask yourself why.

Hkwan Din, a 15 year old Kachin school girl wanted to become a school teacher.

This is the reality of the Karen people of Northern Burma who’s only crime was living in the jungle. Military dictator Than Shwe has declared war on these people and has exercised a barbaric form of eugenics in epic proportions. Cruel enough for you? It actually gets much worse as stories that would overshadow Hollywood’s most grizzly Horror Movie are told at the burgeoning refugee camps along the Thai/Burma border. Government troops have burned children alive as parents looked helplessly, the cries of their kids forever etched in their souls. People have been tortured to death in a slow a deliberate fashion as their eyes were plucked out and other parts of their bodies were carved out such as their genitalia, breasts, ears, facial features and limbs. The cruelty of the criminal regime of Than Shwe has no boundaries and the world sits silent.

Hkawn Din. One day this happy school girl was on her way to give her brother lunch in the rice paddy. Sadly she encountered Burmese government troops who gang raped her and while she was alive they cut her fact off of her skull and gouged her eyeballs out. She eventualy died from stab wounds in her genetalia and body. The soldiers where simply transfered to another unit in Than Shwe's criminal army. I am personally haunted by this story since I have daughters of my own.

The United Nations, as impotent as the rest of the world, wrote resolution after resolution scolding Than Shwe for his conduct. Ibrahim Gambari, and inert emissary from the UN has repeatedly failed to bring justice or peace to Burma. Though only a rumor from within Burma, it was said Gambari received a fabulous ruby as a gift from Than Shwe. This would not be surprising if this allegation were true in light of a recent monetary gift of $500,000 Gambari’s homeland of Nigerian gave Burma. Small wonder Aung San Suu Kyi refused to see him.

Shamefully the world sat by as death was doled out in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. Neutered and impotent the most powerful nations of the world watched as untold numbers of people died from disease and starvation. The trees, waterways and farmland were decorated with human carnage. Imagine eating the bloated flesh of a rotting water buffalo then drinking water tainted with the decomposed essence of human beings who were left in the streams.

It would appear corporate interests far overshadow the concerns of human beings since Human Rights issues are repeatedly ignored by the business world. China with its brutality and slave labor has become a Mecca for international corporations as they relocate from throughout the free world. Profits from slave labor and non existent environmental laws have driven up the corporate bottom line. Following suit Burma has taken up the cause for slave labor as they mimic China’s total disregard for human life. Of course US, Asian and European corporations have followed suite and capitalized in the lucrative slave labor market in China and abroad.

Ironically former US Vice President Dick Cheney’s Halliburton was just leveled a fine exceeding 500 million dollars for over 20 years of bribing the corrupt leadership of Nigeria with millions of dollars. The victims where the peasants and general public whose land was taken away and stripped of natural resources for the benefit of the corporate bottom line. The Cancer is undoubtedly Globalization with the blessing of the World Trade Organization for their callus disregard for national sovereignty, individual cultures and human life. Bill Clinton and his wife as well as the Bush family have gleaned millions of dollars from the exploits of Barrick Gold and its subsidiaries at the expense of the citizens of Africa, South America and the good ole USA. Again it must be known the Clintons are bed fellows with China and have profiteered from the cheap slave labor. The people of the world have become enablers as they enjoy cheap goods made from human suffering. The flood gates of greedy corporate interests who salivate at cheap labor and non existent environmental laws pour into China. Sadly, this is only the tip of the corrupt corporate ice berg fore there are world leaders who are part and parcel co-conspirators in the greatest world take over in human history. And it’s all about the money Paisan, it’s all about the money.

Birds of a feather flock together and it is clear that all these economic unions are not designed to benefit the populations of the nations who subscribe to these economic packs. These unions only benefit an absolute minority or a miniscule fraction of the world population. There is no question this is where the money is disappearing to as the world begins to slide into a world wide financial crisis. Money does not simply disappear whence a depression occurs, it lines pockets. Of course the solution will be a global one as partners of the World Trade Organization and other World based corporate interests evolves a solution. Benito Mussolini once said “Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power”.

Burma is only a microcosm of what the free world will soon face as we are pushed further and further away from democracy, civil liberties and humanity, all for the corporate bottom line. When will the citizens of the world wake up and connect the dots of international corporatism and its dark realities? The enemies of Globalization are labor unions, democracy and freedom of speech. The victims are the silent and humble people from the jungles of Burma, the broad expanse of Africa and the world. Human beings are loosing everything they have from greed.Though it may seem complex and hard to fathom at first light, stop and take a long hard look at the inhumanity that surrounds us at this juncture in time. Daiwoo, Toyota, Wal-Mart and an endless list of other corporations are skimming profits from slave labor not only in China, Burma or Tibet, but around the world. Our ambivalence to the cries of the Karen, Rohingya and other suffering people will undoubtedly come full circle fore as they say, “What goes around comes around”

When I hear about a 15 year old Kachin girl who was raped tortured and her face carved off of her skull before she was dead, I weep fore she was my daughter. When I hear of a *Falun Gong or Buddhist Monk who was arrested then tortured and beaten to death in some dingy cell outside of Beijing, this was my relation. When Native farmers are murdered by ruthless hired gunmen in South America for they land, those were my people. And when innocent children are starved to death in East Timor those were my kids. The culprits are international corporations and anyone who purports the cause of Globalization, corporatism or the mythical One World Order are criminals. From Europe to the US unions and labor are under attack as corporatism tries to take over country after country in a quest to increase the corporate bottom line, it’s as simple as that. Some call it Friedmanism named for Nobel Alumni Milton Friedman and his ideologies pertaining to anarcho-capitalism. Author *Naomi Kline wrote a book, “Shock Doctrine; The Rise of Disaster Capitalism” where she identifies the systematic process of destroying democracy and robbing a nations assets. The axiom derived from the teachings of Milton Friedman according to Naomi. Others call this rush for material gain and power fascism since this is a thinly veiled version of Mussolini’s utopian ideology called corporatism.

There is no question this is why the world and its corrupt leadership turns a deaf ear to the cries of the Karen. No one wants to upset the ox cart or cash flow by disrupting the so called free market that is fed part and parcel by cheap affordable slave labor, broken promises and deceit. The new economical powerhouse on the block is China with its 80 million slaves with the blessing of the World Trade Organization. Asia as a whole is under siege as poachers strip Laos and Viet Nam of their timber to satisfy China’s demand for natural resources to feed western markets. Stores are filled with commodities by corporations invested in Burma, China and other totalitarian regimes. And they wonder why we are poised to suffer the greatest recession since the Great Depression. This culture has come full circle.

The plights of Burmese fishermen who work on ships in Thailand face death and sever beatings from unscrupulous captains. Beaten with pipes and left for dead they are tossed into the shark infested waters of the coast of Thailand. Others simply don’t get paid for their labor further increasing the corporate bottom line. Human trafficking between Burma, China and Thailand has in itself become a most lucrative enterprise as children are sold into bondage. Brothels are filled with helpless refugees and innocent children simple to suit the fancy of foreign businessmen. And the world looks on.

http://www.faluninfo.net/

http://www.naomiklein.org/main

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/14/barackobama.uselections2008

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair

Denmark and Norway Honor a Criminal Regime

2009-01-29T01:30:00.000+06:30

Evacuees from Than Shwe's death squads financed by laudered aid money. No doubt Than Shwe did not show Toreas and Solheim were the money actually went. Photo Free Burma Rangers

By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

It is controversy at its best as news spread throughout the exiled Burmese communities as *Danish Minister Ulla Toreas, Norwegian Minister Erik Solheim and their entourage made an appearance at the Myanmar Red Cross in Burma. Their meeting was conducted from between January 21 and 22 as they reviewed relief efforts for Cyclone Nargis. They were guided to sites and shown successes that undoubtedly Than Shwe calculatedly presented to them. This was a noble gesture at best since it is old news that much of the aid was distributed with in Than Shwe’s black market outlets as the vast majority of the population was not served.

The fact people are being arrested in secrecy and taken to prisons deep in the jungle to eliminate all opposition to the 2010 elections must not have been a consideration to Toreas and Solheim. The continued campaign of rape and murder of tribal people including the Rohingya, Mon’s, Karen and a host of desperate people must not have been of concern to them as they inadvertently legitimized this criminal regime.

The need for assistant in Burma is all too apparent and it does not take a Rhodes Scholar to study and research this fact. This visit was liken to Ibrahim Gambari’s lame duck visitations. The assistance Burma needs is not a few trinkets and boxes of food stuffs, it needs international intervention and the arrest of the criminals responsible for the continued wholesale murder of its population. As Torea and Solheim ate their noodles and drank tea people were being murdered, their villages burned down and the roles of Internally Displace People grew in. As they discussed the possibility of sending more aid into the coffers of Than Shwe the mass exodus to refugee camps along the Thai/Burma border continued. And more innocent people were used as human mine sweepers by the Burmese Army.

Fact is, this sent the wrong message since Than Shwe’s criminal regime escalated its assaults on the border region. Did Torea and Solheim notice the 300,000 child slaves Than Shwe is using in the Delta area or did they notice the mass migration of the forgotten Rohingya people? With the multitude of hard evidence, videos, photos and eye witness accounts of the absolutely barbaric criminal regime of Than Shwe’s, Toreas and Solheim visit to 4 villages was an exercise in futility at best. 4 villages under reconstruction is no validation of the relief efforts. In fact it’s a validation of the total disregard for the 2 million people who were ignored and left to die. So we are supposed to believe Than Shwe was assisting his people in earnest with the millions of dollars that were donated to his relief efforts.

If Toreas and Solheim wanted to see where the Cyclone Nargis aid money really went they should take a long hard look at Than Shwe’s Forbidden City, Naypyidaw. This is where all the laundered aid money was spent. If they did bother to enter this monument of hatred they would notice child slaves working on the grounds. I am repulsed by their proclamation that Myanmar needed more aid. How far beyond stupid are they? Of course Burma needs aid but it’s not the monetary kind fore this beleaguered nation needs to be liberated; the criminals arrested and tried on war crimes and crimes against humanity. Their stance is nothing more than lame duck Ibrahim Gambari’s token visitations. Is this another “feel good visitation” designed to show the world that members of the World Trade Organization are doing something humane? Or is this a veiled attempt to finance Than Shwe’s criminal regime? Possibly Toreas and Solheim are in bed with Dutch Swift in Burma’s elaborate money laundering scheme that side steps US financial sanctions.

In any event this visitation only distorted and skewed the real issue at hand and only legitimized a criminal regime. Torea and Solheim only honored Than Shwe and soon their nations will pad his pockets with more money. In turn Than Shwe will invest in more weapons and escalate his war on innocent people. With the remaining funds he will build another statue to honor himself. The world will feel good they gave up a few bucks but in the shadows people will still be murdered while others are made into slaves. Than Shwe’s culture of death will continue financed part and parcel by the free world. And the will of the true leader of Burma, Aung San Suu Kui, will be ignored, once again.

* http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15022

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair